ISBN: 9780307275660

Synopsis Sixteen years after René Descartes’ death in Stockholm in 1650, a pious French ambassador exhumed the remains of the controversial philosopher to transport them back to Paris. Thus began a 350-year saga that saw Descartes’ bones traverse a continent, passing between kings, philosophers, poets, and painters.

But as Russell Shorto shows in this deeply engaging book, Descartes’ bones also played a role in some of the most momentous episodes in history, which are also part of the philosopher’s metaphorical remains: the birth of science, the rise of democracy, and the earliest debates between reason and faith. Descartes’ Bones is a flesh-and-blood story about the battle between religion and rationalism that rages to this day.

Bookclub Review The book uses the intriguing story of the disappearance, reappearance and disputed authenticity of Descartes’ mortal remains as the backdrop to musings on Descartes’ metaphorical remains: the contested legacy of his thinking and the battle between faith and reason. Part history book, part detective story, Descartes’ Bones crosses genres in a very contemporary style.

What the group thought:

The group generally found Descartes’ Bones very readable and engaging. The book manages to convey complex ideas in a straightforward manner which does not put off the reader. Some members of the group did feel that Shorto occasionally lapsed into a pedagogical style which risked coming across as talking down to his readers. But mostly the group considered the book to be well-written, witty and entertaining. Several group members acknowledged that they would not normally have read this sort of book, but were glad that through the book group they did. Descartes’ Bones is for people with an enquiring mind, an interest in history and philosophy and an appetite for BBC documentaries. For people who prefer fiction, it represents an enjoyable break from the norm.