Intellectuals
by Paul Bede Johnson, Paul M. Johnson, Paul Johnson · first published 1988
38% recommend63% neutral
A fascinating portrait of the minds that have shaped the modern world. In an intriguing series of case studies, Rousseau, Shelley, Marx, Ibsen, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Bertrand Russell, Brecht, Sartre, Edmund Wilson, Victor Gollancz, Lillian Hellman, Cyril Connolly, Norman Mailer, James Baldwin, Kenneth Tynan, and Noam Chomsky, among others, are revealed as intellectuals both brilliant and contradictory, magnetic and dangerous.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2008–2026On Liberty
John Stuart Mill
Recommended by 45 · mentioned by 9545 recommend · 95 mention45 recommend · 9545 recommend
2008–2026Walden
Henry David Thoreau
Recommended by 49 · mentioned by 13049 recommend · 130 mention49 recommend · 13049 recommend
2007–2026The Four Steps to the Epiphany
Steven Gary Blank
Recommended by 116 · mentioned by 177116 recommend · 177 mention116 recommend · 177116 recommend
2014–2026Zero to One
Peter A. Thiel, Blake Masters
Recommended by 166 · mentioned by 413166 recommend · 413 mention166 recommend · 413166 recommend
…undermined his thesis that capitalism couldn't self-improve and needed violent revolution to improve worker conditions. A good introduction to just how isolated from reality he was can be found in the book "Intellectuals" by Paul Johnson. The relevant chapter has been reproduced at this link (ignore the weird picture and lack of attribution, the words are the same): http://thekbh.org/marx2.htm
on “South Park Responds to Being Banned in China for “Band in China”” ↗Sadly, historian Paul Johnson died in the past hours. His history of the XX Century, Modern times, and his biographies - among which are Intellectuals (1988), Creators (2006), Heroes (2007), Humorists (2010) - are some of the books one can warmly recommend.
on “The Best of Paul Johnson” ↗Jacques Barzun - From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present (2001) The Ancient City by Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges (1864) Intellectuals By Paul Johnson Daniel J. Boorstin - The Discoverers The Great Courses - The Industrial Revolution (audiobook/lectures) Decline of the West - Spengler
on “Ask HN: What nonfiction books do you keep rereading?” ↗The Art of Thinking Clearly, Write Portable Code by Brian Hook, Thomas Mann's The magic mountain, The mythical man month, Intellectuals by Paul Johnson and Hegemony and Socialist Strategy, by Ernesto Laclau are on my table right now. But I don't think reading many books in parallel is a good strategy...
on “Ask HN: What Books Are You Reading?” ↗I read Intellectuals by Paul Johnson and it occurs to me that even generously doubting the book, Bertrand Russell comes off as a real scumbag, complete womanizer, generally untethered person and despite being prodigiously…
on “In Praise of Idleness (1932)” ↗I think you really have to appreciate art separate from the artist. Many great figures in history were shits in real life. Paul Johnson's book Intellectuals is pretty much a gawker-style hit piece of Marx, Sartre, Tolstoy, Rousseau, Shelly, Brecht, Russell, and others - but it's not wrong. Hell, John Lennon was a dick to his pre-Yoko family. Don't romanticize…
on “Creator of “Ren and Stimpy” Accused of Preying on Underage Girls” ↗Long time ago I have read Intellectuals: From Marx and Tolstoy to Sartre and Chomsky by Paul Johnson. They are almost all shown as misguided hypocrytes but still some of them did caught spirit of the time and inspired people. > A fascinating…
on “Judgments of Henry David Thoreau (2015)” ↗…ideas from her. His Autobiography is fascinating. Also, speaking of treatment of women, I can't read about 'experiments in living' without recalling the horrific chapter on Shelley in Paul Johnson's Intellectuals.
on “Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion (1869)” ↗