15 h 1 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the signs of brilliance are also, in one doctor's eyes, signs of illness?
In The Man of Genius, Italian physician Cesare Lombroso asks whether exceptional talent belongs to the same family as mental disease. He gathers case notes, anecdotes and measurements about poets, painters, composers, scientists and thinkers. Their minds—and their bodies—become evidence for his controversial claim.
Lombroso looks for physical clues to genius and draws a bold link between inspiration and epilepsy. He also considers how society responds to the new and strange. Read as a historical document rather than a reliable account of the mind, this study reveals a fascinating, flawed attempt to measure human brilliance.
What you’ll discover
- The mind under examination Follow a physician's effort to explain extraordinary talent through observation, case notes and measurement.
- Brilliance beside illness Explore Lombroso's central claim without mistaking his theory for an established truth about creativity.
- Clues in the body See how Lombroso treats physical traits as evidence in his search for signs of genius.
- Inspiration as a fit Examine the link he draws between epilepsy, unusual states of mind and bursts of creative energy.
- Genius meets resistance Look beyond the individual to Lombroso's account of society's response to new and strange ideas.
Who will love it
For readers who love biography, the lives of poets, composers and scientists, and the history of ideas about the mind. Anyone curious about how the nineteenth century studied talent, madness and creativity will find rich material here.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Thinkers have long linked inspiration with madness
- Genius carries the bodily marks of degeneration
- Inspiration is involuntary, intense and followed by collapse
- Sensitivity, melancholy and pride mark great minds
- Some great minds were truly insane
- Weather, place, race and heredity shape genius
- Madness can bring out hidden talent
- Mattoids imitate genius without its substance
- Prophets, saints and leaders may be unbalanced
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Man of Genius
by Cesare Lombroso · 1888
A physician sets out to prove that Newton, Rousseau and Beethoven shared traits with the patients of his asylum.
Challenging10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Why do so many brilliant people suffer from melancholy, forgetfulness and wild delusions? In The Man of Genius, the Italian physician Cesare Lombroso gathers hundreds of lives, skulls, letters and case histories to argue that genius is a kind of illness of the mind.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Thinkers have long linked inspiration with madness
Lombroso opens by showing that his claim is old. Aristotle noted that poets and statesmen were often melancholic. Plato said that divine delirium helped the prophetesses of Delphi serve Greece, and Diderot wrote of how close genius and madness stand.
He adds language as proof. In Hebrew and Sanskrit, the words for prophet and madman overlap, and proverbs say that fools and children speak the truth. Later doctors such as Lelut, Moreau and Hagen gathered cases of great men with hallucinations and fixed ideas.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 6 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1888
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Man of Genius
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Man of Genius about?
It is a nineteenth-century study that argues genius resembles a nervous disorder. Lombroso collects traits, case histories and statistics on great artists, scientists and leaders, comparing them with the insane and the half-insane.
What is a mattoid?
Mattoid is Lombroso's term for a half-insane person who looks like a genius but lacks the substance. Mattoids write endless odd books and claim great missions, yet stay sensible in daily life.
Is Lombroso's theory still accepted?
Modern science rejects his idea that genius is degeneration, and his race and sex claims. The book remains valued as a record of how a famous scientist of 1891 tried to measure creativity and its link to illness.
The author
Cesare Lombroso
1835–1909 · Italian psychiatrist and criminologist
Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909) was an Italian psychiatrist, physician, and criminologist. He was born in Verona and died in Turin, where he taught at the university. He wrote Criminal Man, first published in 1876, and The Man of Genius, which appeared in English in 1891.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
