by Eric Weiner
First published 2016
Eric Weiner examines why certain places produce bursts of creative genius at particular moments in history. The New York Times bestselling travel writer visits locations where innovation flourished, including Renaissance Florence, Vienna in 1900, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and modern Silicon Valley. Weiner investigates the connection between environment and breakthrough thinking. He walks the streets where figures like Socrates, Michelangelo, and Leonardo once lived and worked. Through his travels, Weiner seeks to understand what conditions foster ingenuity and whether those elements can be replicated elsewhere. The book combines historical analysis with on-the-ground reporting as Weiner searches for the ingredients that create hotbeds of human creativity.
Genres: history, science, travel, non-fiction, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: informative, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism, on-the-ground-reporting
Setting: Ancient Athens, Florence, Hangzhou, Silicon Valley, Vienna
Period: Renaissance, Song Dynasty, 1900
368 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster