Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson by Curran, Andrew S.
Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson by Curran, Andrew S.

Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson

An engaging investigation of how thirteen key Enlightenment figures shaped the concept of race, from the acclaimed...
$59.98 USD
$107.99 USD
$59.98 USD
Please hurry! Only 215 left in stock
Author: Andrew S. Curran
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $59.98
Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson by Curran, Andrew S.

Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson

$107.99 $59.98
Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson by Curran, Andrew S.

Biography of a Dangerous Idea: A New History of Race from Louis XIV to Thomas Jefferson

$107.99 $59.98
Author: Andrew S. Curran
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Description
An engaging investigation of how thirteen key Enlightenment figures shaped the concept of race, from the acclaimed author of Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely.

Over the course of the eighteenth century, Enlightenment natural historians and classifiers redefined what it meant to be human. By 1800, they had recast the very idea of humankind, sorting the world's peoples into rigid biological categories for the first time in history. Prize-winning biographer Andrew S. Curran retraces this often-misunderstood story by plunging into the lives and ideas of the most influential individuals behind this reconceptualization, among them Louis XIV, Voltaire, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Thomas Jefferson.

Moving from the gilded halls of Versailles to the slave plantations of the Caribbean, from the court of the Mughal Empire to the drawing rooms of Monticello, Biography of a Dangerous Idea not only reveals the Enlightenment's entanglement with empire and oppression--it offers a bold reassessment of the era's most celebrated luminaries.

Author: Andrew S. Curran
Publisher: Other Press (NY)
Published: 02/02/2026
Pages: 512
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.86lbs
Size: 9.18h x 6.28w x 1.66d
ISBN: 9781635422245


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2026
Publishers Weekly 12/08/2025
Library Journal 01/01/2026 pg. 64

About the Author
Andrew S. Curran is the William Armstrong Professor of the Humanities at Wesleyan University. A scholar and biographer, his writing has appeared in the New York Review of Books, the New York Times, The Guardian, Newsweek, TIME, the Paris Review, and the Wall Street Journal. He is also the author or editor of five books. His most recent, edited with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., is Who's Black and Why? His previous book was the prize-winning biography Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely (Other Press, 2019).
Shipping & Return

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Review