The Geography of Genius: Lessons from the World's Most Creative Places (Creative Lessons in History)

“The Chinese invented everything from the compass and block printing to mechanical clocks and toilet paper (a genius invention, if ever there was one.)” (Kindle Locations 1059-1060)Every now and again a book comes along that offers up a feast of compelling insights and mind's-eye popping perspectives. Books such as Jared Diamond's, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies; and Yuval Noah Harari's, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.We can now add to that list Eric Weiner's, insightful, illuminating, and highly entertaining, The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World's Most Creative Places, from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley.Consistent with Socrates's admonition: "The road to wisdom is paved with good questions." (Kindle location 994), Weiner's The Geography of Genius asks far more questions than it answers. Just what were the special conditions, the special circumstances, the special cultural climates, that contributed to several severe, albeit brief, explosions of creative genius over the past couple millennia? Why there? Why then?In ancient Athens (454-430 BCE)—“Athenians were more open to foreign ideas and, in the final analysis, more open-minded.” [Kindle Locations 888-889]; “The Spartans, by comparison, walled themselves off from the outside world, and nothing kills creativity faster than a wall.” [Kindle Locations 893-894]In Hangzhou, China (Song Dynasty, 960-1278 CE)—“When Europeans were busy picking lice out of their hair and wondering when the Middle Ages would ever end, the Chinese were busy inventing, discovering, writing, painting, and, in general, improving the human condition.” [Kindle Locations 1052-1054]In Florence, Italy (14th-16th century)—“The Italian Renaissance brought the world not only masterpieces of art and literature, but also double-entry bookkeeping and maritime insurance.” [Kindle Locations 1920-1921]In Edinburgh, Scotland (The Scottish Enlightenment, 18th century)—“Surely there must be a better way of doing this. That one simple yet sneakily subversive thought is what drove every aspect of the Scottish Enlightenment… ” [Kindle Locations 2307-2309]In Calcutta, India (The Bengal Renaisance: Who knew?)—“Between roughly 1840 and 1920, Calcutta was one of the world’s great intellectual capitals, the heart of a creative flourishing that spanned the arts, literature, science, and religion.” [Kindle Locations 2998-3000]In Vienna, Austria (Twice.) —“Vienna’s golden age was longer, and deeper, than any other. It was, in fact, two distinct golden ages. First, in roughly 1800, a musical flourishing brought us Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert, and the wunderkind Mozart. Then, a century later, a much broader explosion of genius touched every field imaginable— science, psychology, art, literature, architecture, philosophy, and, once again, music.” [Kindle Locations 3470-3472]In Silicon Valley, Califronia (Late 20th century)—“If America possesses any resource in spades, it is optimism, and optimism, a certain amount anyway, is a prerequisite for genius.” [Kindle Locations 4737-4738]Recommendation: An absolutely must read for any and all culture, sociology, and/or history junkies.“As an ancient Greek poet put it, ‘Before the gates of excellence, the high gods have placed much sweat. The sweat of labor often mingled with the sweat of pain’ ” (Kindle Locations 5169-5170)Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition, 7,099 Kindle locations.

The book is a pleasurable read, and filled with excellent insights into the nature and history of genius. It highlights both the well-known hotspots of genius, such as ancient Athens, Renaissance-age Florence, and today's Silicon Valley, but also lesser-known places, such as industrial-age Edinburg.The author sets out to explore these hotspots in an endeavour to try and find if there are certain geographical factors that made (and make in Silicon Valley's case) them particularly fertile to genius. But while a few traits are hypothesised, this overall purpose of the book is largely left unaccounted for when you reach the end, which makes for a less than gratifying end to the tale. So as a historic account of some (but only some, for instance, where is Belle Epoque Paris or mid-20th century Hollywood?) of the cities around the world that have sprouted extraordinary talent and creativity, this is a book that is as informative as it is entertaining. But as a comparative study of these places, with a conclusion that enlightens us on the connection between space and creativity, it doesn't quite deliver.

Travelling through time and space, with the aid of some knowledgeable guides, Eric Weiner takes the reader on a tour of humanity’s hot spots over the last two and a half millennia. He begins with Athens in the Golden age and ends with, what else, Palo Alto in the Silicon age. Interspersed with lively metaphors and well-suited aphorisms, it reads without interruption and organizes a number of thoughtful studies on the topics of what cultivates creativity. This reviewer takes a bit of an exception to the fixation on Freud, who admittedly was a creator of new and surprising ideas, but ones that may have been found wanting in terms of validation. Otherwise, the places, including Vienna in 1900, and people, and the connections among them provide insights worth having and questions worth asking.Diverse, disorderly, and discerning, to quote the author, his tour entertains, informs, and invariably engages the reader, even if there are some not necessarily inappropriate ups and downs in the ebb and flow in the journey. For anyone interested in cultivating young creators or in developing environments that promote adult creativity, which includes almost all parents, teachers and entrepreneurs, this book offers something different and worthwhile. The fast food consumers of business books should be forewarned, however, this is not a book filled with bullet point answers to satisfy one’s curiosity, but rather, a multi-course meal with a variety of offerings meant to enrich one’s appreciation of a subject that is tantalizing, relevant, and complex.

Great book which takes you to locations in the past where and when great accomplishments were achieved and what the primary contributing factors to these achievements were. Mesmerizing!

There were as many good quotes and interesting observations in this book as conclusions made too fast and based on one sentence somebody said...

Received in perfect condition!

A clear five star book. A light-hreated touch carries this book on a journey around the world, looking for and finding genius. Insighful in not just what the author writes about, but also in the connections to the stories of genius.There are some obvious highlights in the history of genius: the renaissance, silicon valley and such, but the authors gives us more than what is generally known about creatvie people and their communities, he leads us through why and how they become the top of their field.The best part about this book is the way it is written; it's clear, easy to read, well thought out, well edited and compelling writing that makes you want to read on.

Eric writes with such intelligence but in a fun way. Such an enjoyable read. And new, helpful facts and a way to reflect upon ones own offerings to the world....an inspirational piece as well.