First published in 1976, Paul Johnson’s exceptional study of Christianity has been loved and widely hailed for its intensive research, writing, and magnitude. Weaving a great range of material, the scholar and author Johnson creates an ambitious panoramic overview of the evolution of the Western world since the founding of a little-known “Jesus sect.” With an unbiased and overall optimistic tone, Johnson traces the fantastic scope of the consequent sects of Christianity and the people who followed them, from the time of the apostle Paul through the Second Vatican Council. Information drawn from extensive and varied sources around the world makes this history as credible as it is reliable. Invaluable understanding of the framework of modern Christianity and its trials and tribulations throughout history has never before been contained in such a captivating work.

Johnson’s monumental history of the United States, from the first settlers to the Clinton administration, covers every aspect of American culture: politics, business, art, literature, science, society and customs, complex traditions, and religious beliefs. The story is told in terms of the men and women who shaped and led the nation and the ordinary people who collectively created its unique character. Anne Hutchinson, Cotton Mather, Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine, George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, among others, are all presented with a fresh perspective. Wherever possible, letters, diaries, and recorded conversations are used to ensure a sense of actuality.

This is an in-depth portrait of a great people, from their fragile origins and struggles for independence, to their heroic efforts and sacrifices to deal with the “organic sin” of slavery and the preservation of the Union, to their explosive economic growth and emergence as the world’s greatest superpower.

This is a provocative and panoramic survey of 2,000 years of English history. Johnson tells the story of how a small nation, living in a geographical backwater, developed unique economic and political institutions, expanded its territory, and saddled upon it the frame of a modern industrial society.

This historical magnum opus covers 4,000 years of the extraordinary history of the Jews as a people, a culture, and a nation. It shows the impact of Jewish character on the world: their genius, imagination and, most of all, their ability to persevere despite severe persecutions. Compelling insights into events and individuals are chronologically detailed, from Moses and Jesus to Spinoza, Marx, Freud, the Rothschilds, and Golda Meir.

“Why have I written a history of the Jews?…When I was working on my History of Christianity, I became aware for the first time in my life of the magnitude of debt Christianity owes to Judaism…the book gave me the chance to reconsider objectively, in the light of a study covering nearly 4,000 years, the most intractable of all human questions: what are we on earth for? Is history merely a series of events whose sum is meaningless?”—from the Prologue

In Churchill, critically acclaimed historian Paul Johnson explores the complex and fascinating character of Winston Churchill-the soldier, orator, and statesman who shined brightest during Britain’s darkest hours. From his forays into the far-flung corners of the empire as cavalry officer and correspondent to his warnings of impending crisis as historian and Parliamentarian, Churchill faced the winds and tides of change with remarkable versatility and tenacity. “A brilliant writer . in full command of the music of words.”-Baltimore Sun

The author of more than 40 books, acclaimed historian Paul Johnson also writes for Forbes and theSpectator. With Darwin, Johnson sheds new light on a man many regard as the most influential scientist in history. Darwin’s theories of evolution transformed the world’s view of biology. Here, in meticulous detail, Johnson describes Darwin’s brilliance and the unfortunate circumstances that compelled him to support the eugenics movement.

Acclaimed historian Paul Johnson’s lively, succinct biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower explores how his legacy endures today. In the rousing style he’s famous for, celebrated historian Paul Johnson offers a fascinating biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower, focusing particularly on his years as a five-star general and his two terms as president of the United States. Johnson chronicles Ike’s modest childhood in Kansas, his college years at West Point, and his rapid ascent through the military ranks, culminating in his appointment as supreme commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II. Johnson then paints a rich portrait of Ike’s presidency, exploring his volatile relationship with Vice President Nixon, his abhorrence of isolationism, and his position on the cold war, McCarthyism, and the civil rights movement. Many elements of Eisenhower’s presidency speak to American politics today, including his ability to balance the budget, his skill in managing an oppositional Congress, and his warnings about the military-industrial complex. This brief yet comprehensive portrait will appeal to biography lovers as well as to enthusiasts of presidential history and military history alike.

In this enlightening and entertaining work, Paul Johnson continues his engaging history series. As he has done in previous books, he approaches the subject of heroism by example. Here are men and women from every age, walk of life, and corner of the world who have inspired and transformed their cultures and the world itself.

Heroes includes Samson, Judith, and Deborah; Alexander and Caesar; Henry V and Joan of Arc; Thomas More, Lady Jane Grey, and Mary Queen of Scots; Elizabeth I and Walter Raleigh; George Washington, the Duke of Wellington, and Lord Nelson; Emily Dickinson; Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee; Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle; Mae West and Marilyn Monroe; Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II.

In Intellectuals, Paul Johnson offered a fascinating portrait of the minds that have shaped the modern world. In Creators, he examined a host of outstanding and prolific creative spirits. And in Heroes, he brought together a galaxy of legendary figures from the annals of Western history. Now, Johnson turns his impressive intellect and piercing insight to the greatest wits in the history of the Western world.

His is a selective survey across history, and includes a diverse cast of legendary humorists who got a grand kick out of life, including Benjamin Franklin and the Marx Brothers, Charles Dickens and Damon Runyon, W. C. Fields and Samuel Johnson, William Hogarth and James Thurber. Including dark humor, broad satire, bawdy wit, biting sarcasm, and more, this entertaining and erudite collection brings to life great minds who reflected on life’s follies, pretensions, and foibles with that greatest of gifts: humor.

Since the time of Voltaire and Rousseau, the secular intellectual has increasingly filled the vacuum left by the decline of the cleric and assumed the functions of moral mentor and critic of mankind. This fascinating portrait of the minds that have shaped the modern world examines the moral credentials of those whose thoughts have influenced humanity.

How do intellectuals set about reaching their conclusions? How carefully do they examine the evidence? How great is their respect for truth? And how do they apply their public principles to their private lives? In an intriguing series of case studies and incisive portraits, these people are revealed as intellectuals both brilliant and contradictory, magnetic and dangerous.

Included are: 1. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: An Interesting Madman 2. Shelley, or The Heartlessness of Ideas 3. Karl Marx: Howling Gigantic Curses 4. Henrik Ibsen: On the Contrary! 5. Tolstoy: God’s Elder Brother 6. The Deep Waters of Ernest Hemingway 7. Bertolt Brecht: Heart of Ice 8. Bertrand Russell: A Case of Logical Fiddlesticks 9. Jean-Paul Sarte: A Little Bar of Fur and Ink 10. Edmund Wilson: A Brand from the Burning 11. The Troubled Conscience of Victor Gollancz 12. Lies, Damned Lies, and Lillian Hellman 13. The Flight of Reason

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Ireland is inarguably a beautiful, enchanted place. But its history is more turbulent, fascinating, and terrible than any other. From the first English presence in Ireland in the twelfth century, through siege, rebellion, and civil war, to Irish ascendancy, home rule, and the present-day Troubles, bestselling author Paul Johnson tells, with remarkable clarity and concision, the compelling story of this most remarkable island.

Is Jesus relevant to us today?

Few figures have had such an influence on history as Jesus of Nazareth. His teachings have inspired discussion, arguments, even war. Yet few have ever held forth as movingly as Jesus on the need for peace, forgiveness, and mercy.

Paul Johnson offers listeners a lively biography of the man who inspired one of the world’s great religions and whose lessons still guide us in current times. Johnson’s intelligent and conversational style, as well as his ability to distill complex subjects into succinct and highly readable works, makes this book an ideal match of a major historian with a major subject. The result is an accessible biography and an insightful analysis of how Jesus is important in the present era.

Earning the eleventh spot on National Review‘s list of the Best Nonfiction Books of the Century, this fast-paced, all-encompassing narrative history covers the great events, ideas, and personalities of the six decades following the end of World War I, and offers a full-scale–if controversial–analysis of how the modern age came into being and where it is heading.

Beginning on May 29, 1919, when photographs of the solar eclipse confirmed the truth of Einstein’s theory of relativity, Johnson goes on to describe Freudianism, the establishment of the first Marxist state, the chaos of “Old Europe,” the Arcadian twenties, and the new forces in China and Japan. Also discussed are Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Castro, Kennedy, Nixon, the ’29 crash, the Great Depression, Roosevelt’s New Deal, and the massive conflict of World War II.

As he’ s done in Napoleon, Churchill, Jesus, and Darwin, acclaimed historian and author Paul Johnson here offers a concise, illuminating biography of Mozart. Johnson’ s focus is on the music– Mozart’ s wondrous output of composition and his uncanny gift for instrumentation. Liszt once said that Mozart composed more bars than a trained copyist could write in a lifetime. Mozart’ s gift and skill with instruments was also remarkable as he mastered all of them except the harp. For example, no sooner had the clarinet been invented and introduced than Mozart began playing and composing for it.

From New York Times bestselling author Paul Johnson, “a very readable and entertaining biography” (The Washington Post) about one of the most important figures in modern European history: Napoleon Bonaparte
 
In an ideal pairing of author and subject, the magisterial historian Paul Johnson offers a vivid look at the life of the strategist, general, and dictator who conquered much of Europe. Following Napoleon from the barren island of Corsica to his early training in Paris, from his meteoric victories and military dictatorship to his exile and death, Johnson examines the origins of his ferocious ambition. In Napoleon’s quest for power, Johnson sees a realist unfettered by patriotism or ideology. And he recognizes Bonaparte’s violent legacy in the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century. Napoleon is a magnificent work that bears witness to one individual’s ability to work his will on history.

Acclaimed historian and best-selling author Paul Johnson’s books have been translated into dozens of languages. In Socrates: A Man for Our Times, Johnson draws from little-known resources to construct a fascinating account of one of history’s greatest thinkers. Socrates transcended class limitations in Athens during the fifth century B.C. to develop ideas that still shape the way we think about the human body and soul, including the workings of the human mind.

This is an extraordinary chronicle of the fifteen years, 1815–1830, that laid the foundations of modern society. It is a history of people, ideas, politics, manners, morals, economics, art, science and technology, diplomacy, business and commerce, literature, and revolution.

From Wellington at Waterloo and Jackson at New Orleans to the surge of democratic power and reform, this tumultuous period saw the United States transform itself from an ex-colony into a formidable nation, Britain become the first industrial world power, Russia develop the fatal flaws that would engulf her in the twentieth century, and China and Japan set the stage for future development and catastrophe. Provocative, challenging, and listenable, this remarkable story is told through the lives and actions of its outstanding, curious, and ordinary people.