One of the most significant and enduring texts to have survived from Ancient Greece is Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, written by Plutarch in the first century AD. In the work, the man known as the 'Father of Biography' paired off the most notable and influential figures of the classical world, placing their lives and legacies next to each other, allowing the comparisons and juxtapositions to reveal new truths about famous men his readers already knew and revered. He compared Demosthenes with Cicero, Alexander the Great with Julius Caesar; the result was an intellectual masterpiece still referred to by historians today.
In A Modern Plutarch, Robert Lloyd George applies this model of biography to many of the most recognizable figures, new and old, of American and British history. George compares select politicians, generals, scientists, and social and religious activists, drawing parallels between their lives and minds while revealing the traits that made them unique. Whether it's Churchill placed next to Lincoln, Darwin compared to James Watson, or any of George's other memorable pairings, A Modern Plutarch uses an ancient method of comparison to show us new features of many of the great thinkers in the Western world.
