by David Bodanis
This is a frothy historical biography best described by its title. Unfortunately it does not live up to either the dramatic promise of its subtitle, or to the serious intentions stated in its preface. In that preface, the author bemoans the lack of recognition of early 18th century aristocratic Fren...
The history isn't all that rigorous, and Bodanis hammers the living crap out of you with his point, but the story is terrific and well-told; yeah, this is worth a look.
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