Three centuries ago, François-Marie Voltaire published his Dictionnaire philosophique, taking in such idiosyncratic topics as adultery, mountains, nakedness, and others besides. In 1957, another French philosopher of more recent vintage, Roland Barthes, mused in his Mythologies on the masculine pursuits of wrestling, striptease and the Citroën DS. Since the dawn of philosophy, the world's great thinkers have been unable to resist the lure of applying their formidable brains not only to the meaning of life, but also to the meaning of coffee, trapped wind or efficient boiler installation. Now, from Wollstonecraft to Wittgenstein, Laozi to Locke, Aristotle to Arendt, Great Minds on Small Things brings together their varied observations, alongside delightful black and white illustrations, in a highly entertaining and eye-opening miscellany that is guaranteed to make life's mundanities suddenly seem a lot more highbrow. AUTHOR: Matthew Qvortrup is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Coventry University, Visiting Professor at the Australian National University in Canberra, and the acclaimed author of Angela Merkel: Europe's Most Influential Leader. He regularly appears on broadcast media and writes for publications including Philosophy Now, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Guardian and The Times. He also appears as a regular commentator for the BBC, on both radio and television.
