A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age
Honorable Mention for the 2011 PROSE Award in Philosophy, Association of American Publishers"In this clearly written and accessible book, Nadler offers up a historical and philosophical analysis of Spinoza'sTheological-Political Treatise. . . . Each chapter not only focuses on sections of theTreatisebut also explains the historical context of theTreatiseand why many saw it as such a dangerous and corrupting book. . . . [Nadler] has definitely succeeded in writing an extremely rewarding and engaging book."--Library Journal(starred review)"[T]his is a groundbreaking analysis of an incendiary text."--Booklist"Steven Nadler's new study of theTreatise, A Book Forged in Hell, succeeds. . . . While his tasks are primarily expository and contextual, Nadler, who is the author of the standard biography of Spinoza, puts forward a substantive thesis as well. . . . Guided by this set of claims, Nadler takes us through theTreatisein a detailed but seamless account of Spinoza's arguments and aims. One measure of his integrity, indeed, is that while endorsing the common portrayal of Spinoza as a founder of modern secularism, Nadler is sensitive to some of the ways in which Spinoza isnotto be taken as the harbinger of the secular mindset. In fact,A Book Forged in Hellraises the important question of how appropriate it is to view Spinoza as a philosophical founder of contemporary secularism and especially of contemporary liberalism. It also raises the question of whether Spinoza should be understood as a Jewish thinker, if so, to what extent."--Zachary Micah Gartenberg,Jewish Review of Books"Steven Nadler has written a delightfully lucid and philosophically thorough account of theTreatisethat helps to explain how and why this singular text became the object of such opprobrium and why we should see its appearance as the 'the birth of the secular age.'. . . What makes Nadler's so welcome a contribution is the care and the clarity of his philosophical exposition, and his restraint when tracing the wider implications of Spinoza's work."--Peter Gordon, TNR.com'sThe Book"Without comparison the best among the available books on Spinoza in this category."--British Journal for the History of Philosophy"Nadler shows, for a general audience, why Spinoza'sTractatus Theologico-Politicusevoked such opposition from contemporary religious and political readers. Nadler places Spinoza and his book in their historical context, explains the issues that were at stake, and discusses the book's subsequent influence. Persons interested in the history of political liberalism, modern Judaism, biblical interpretation, and early modern philosophy will welcome this excellent book."--Choice"A Book Forged in Hellis . . . without comparison the best among the available books on Spinoza in this category."--British Journal for the History of Philosophy"Steven Nadler, professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has written a thoroughly engaging study of a book which, not only controversial in its day, may be said to have moved Biblical studies into a modern terminology and thrust. It will be a welcome addition to seminary and university libraries."--Morton J. Merowitz,Association of Jewish Library Reviews"[A]ccomplished. . . . Few have accepted Spinoza's equation of God with Nature or his determinism. Yet his deconstruction of the Bible remains a towering achievement, a triumph of reason over ecclesiastical obfuscation. Nadler is to be applauded for making this achievement so accessible. God knows, the world still needs such enlightenment."--Jewish Chronicle"Philosophy professor Steven Nadler tells the story of the book that scandalized early modern Europe--and laid the groundwork for modern republican, anticlerical, and anti-sectarian movements--in his readableA Book Forged in Hell."--Reason"[L]ucid. . . . Nadler does an excellent job of summarizing Spinoza's sometimes convoluted arguments . . ."--Weekly Standard