Spinoza Problem, The

- Blurb -

From Love's Executioner to The Gift of Therapy and When Nietzsche Wept, over the past quarter-century, Dr Irvin Yalom ' the world's leading group psychotherapist and a guru to his many followers ' has become a bestselling master of both the non-fiction and fiction realms. By combining fascinating fictional stories with the true histories of philosophers, Yalom's 'distinct brand of fiction ' and his knack for presenting complex ideas and theories in clear, engaging prose makes him a populariser in the finest sense.' (Los Angeles Times, on The Schopenhauer Cure). Now, in The Spinoza Problem, Yalom evokes two unforgettable real-life historical figures: in 17th-century Amsterdam, the great humanist philosopher-to-be, Benito Spinoza, as he is being excommunicated form his Jewish community. And in 20th-century Germany, the young Alfred Rosenberg, the future architect of Nazi ideology, who is just starting to form his thoughts on racial purity. Woven together, these two narratives lead inevitably to the 20th-century Holocaust. How and why did Yalom bring these two 'great' men together? One, a monster to his own community yet a humanist to the world, the other, a monster to the world though a hero to his own community, the Nazis. When exploring the Nuremberg files, Dr Yalom came across a curious note mentioning the Nazis' 'Spinoza problem'. Then, he discovered that when the Nazis occupied Holland, they confiscated hundreds of books from Spinoza's personal library. So what could 'the Spinoza problem' be, and why were these books, originally owned by a 'reviled' Jewish philosopher, saved? The collision of the stories of the 17th century philosopher with this brilliant yet demonic Nazi ideologue 'who ran the Nazi looting efforts'is powerful. The resulting novel, The Spinoza Problem, illuminates both our bestiality and our humanity, taking us into the minds and times of these men.