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  • The Geography of Genius

  • A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley
  • Written by: Eric Weiner
  • Narrated by: Eric Weiner
  • Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
  • 3.8 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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The Geography of Genius

Written by: Eric Weiner
Narrated by: Eric Weiner
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Publisher's Summary

Travel the world with Eric Weiner, the New York Times best-selling author of The Geography of Bliss, as he journeys from Athens to Silicon Valley - and throughout history, too - to show how creative genius flourishes in specific places at specific times.

In The Geography of Genius, acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity. And, with his trademark insightful humor, he walks the same paths as the geniuses who flourished in these settings to see if the spirit of what inspired figures like Socrates, Michelangelo, and Leonardo remains. In these places, Weiner asks, "What was in the air, and can we bottle it?"

This link can be traced back through history: Darwin's theory of evolution gelled while he was riding in a carriage. Freud did his best thinking at his favorite coffeehouse. Beethoven, like many geniuses, preferred long walks in the woods.

Sharp and provocative, The Geography of Genius redefines the argument about how genius came to be. His reevaluation of the importance of culture in nurturing creativity is an informed romp through history that will surely jump-start a national conversation.

©2016 Eric Weiner. All rights reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Myopic romanticisms of white men

So sorely disappointed 😔… no women as main area of focus, just side characters or token mentions in relation to the men who take up 95% of the book. 70% of the book stays in Europe, and all of that in Western Europe. Another 10% in America waxing poetic about capitalism. Africa ignored completely, as are Indigenous peoples from North America or Australia. Brief and sinophobic foray in China, same for India… and ending in San Fran. Myopic and distinctively capitalistic, a missed opportunity on every page, It does little more than perpetuate stereotypes and romanticisms of white men, has a distinctly supremacist undertone, tapping into cultural racism over and over, and often feels like it was written over rum and cokes. Don't waste your time.

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