The Party of Humanity: Essays in the French Enlightenment

Often the target of uninformed or hostile criticism, the Enlightenment has been characterized as "shallow and pretentious intellectualism" and "unreasonable contempt for authority and tradition." In this provocative book--at once a scholarly study and a vigorous polemic--Peter Gay sets out to shatter old myths, to sort out illusion from reality, and to restore the men of the Enlightenment--Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot--to the esteem they deserve.Binding Type: PaperbackPublisher: W. W. Norton & CompanyPublished: 10/17/1971ISBN: 9780393006070Pages: 320Weight: 0.77lbsSize: 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.72d