PAPERBACK AVAILABLE JANUARY 6, 2015


Plato at the Googleplex is an important and amazing book…It is amazing because the book takes great risks—including the risk of including 21st century dialogues about Plato’s philosophy, and thereby risking comparison with the greatest writer  of philosophical dialogues that ever lived—and succeeds, in part because [Goldstein] keeps the dialogues as lighthearted in tone as they are serious in intent…Goldstein beautifully combines the skills of a distinguished novelist with breathtaking philosophical scholarship.  I repeat, this book is important and amazing.”
Hilary Putnam, John Cogan University Professor of the Humanities Emeritus, Harvard University

 

Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away

Reviews

"It is, quite simply, a tour de force: erudite, intelligent, insightful and beautifully written . . .  Goldstein’s achievement . . . is truly remarkable, not least because she has dared to make the experience of learning about Plato’s philosophy highly pleasurable."
Times Higher Education Supplement (UK)

"The sparkle & vivacity of a Shaw play ... She brings off this tour de force with madcap brilliance & commanding authority."
The Washington Post

"ingenious, entertaining, and challenging"
—The Atlantic

"The man who gave us philosophy as we know it is back, walking among us . . . .engaging with our current struggles.  For this we must thank Rebecca Newberger Goldstein's inventiveness and intellectual courage."
—Marcelo Gleiser, NPR

"Philosopher Rebecca Goldstein probes why Plato--and the philosophical enterprise itself--remain a force in science and culture . . . . This thought experiment usefully casts an eye on our turbocharged century. And it shows what survives of this classical titan: an ability to plumb the deep questions we still grapple with, from the nature of knowledge to morality."
—Nature

"She is a playful, buoyant, witty stylist who parses intractably difficult philosophical and religious ideas with breathtaking ease. ...She is also smarter than me, you, and most people on earth… Philosophy won’t go away as long as Rebecca Newberger Goldstein is around to remind us of its enduring relevance.”
—Matthew Price, Boston Globe
 
“[A] remarkably alive, ruminative new work… Plato at the Googleplex delivers loads of colorful, fascinating ancient historical context. ...[The book is} fun and at times wickedly funny.”
—John Wilwol, San Francisco Chronicle

“A witty, inventive, genre-bending work…”
— ★ Kirkus (starred)

“Plato lives! Brilliantly re-creating Plato’s philosophic dialogues, Goldstein transports the ancient Greek philosopher to the twenty-first-century headquarters of Google, where his probing voice engages three modern hosts in exploring what knowledge means in an age of computerized crowd sourcing”
— ★ Booklist (starred)

"Rebecca Goldstein has written a timely book about our own age by taking us back to an earlier age—that of the ancient Greeks. . . The book is felicitously written, impressively researched, insightful, important, entertaining, independent-minded, and glowing with intelligence. You may have to put it down for the occasional breather, but you will be happy to find it vibrating in your hands again. Plato is brought marvelously to life and relevance in these passionate pages."
Wall Street Journal

"She presents Plato at his best and most relevant—the Plato most deserving of our attention."
Slate 

“Books like Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s Plato at the Googleplex are of the rare type that contribute to the popularization of knowledge and create appetite for more. After reading this book you will . . . question your views and knowledge about politics, psychology, science, history, and ethics.”
New York Journal of Books

"Rebecca Newberger Goldstein’s erudition, coupled to her literary skill, makes Plato at the Googleplex inviting and readable without sacrificing complexity."
The Arts Fuse

 

Plato at the Googleplex is a wonderful book—enjoyably readable, full of stimulating insights and refreshing observations, unintimidatingly erudite, and salted with a gentle wit.  It will reward both readers who are professional philosophers as well as amateurs who are interested in acquiring a deeper understanding of what serious philosophy is all about and why it continues to flourish.”
—Harry Frankfurt, author of On Bullshit

“This could be one of the best ever demonstrations of the value and utility of philosophy. Richly insightful, beautifully written, it is at once introduction, exploration and application, revealing the fascination and significance of philosophical ideas and their relevance to life. Like the Plato who figures largely here, Goldstein has both literary and philosophical gifts of the highest order: the combination is superb.”
—A.C. Grayling, author of The God Argument

“A MacArthur Fellow and award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction, Goldstein always delivers something exciting for inquiring minds.”
— Barbara Hoffert’s MY PICK, Library Journal

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