The Geography of Genius
A Search for the World’s Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley
By Eric Weiner
About the book
Eric Weiner, a travel writer, sets out to connect places with creative genius, examining why ingenuity flourished in particular cities at particular times. He visits ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, Renaissance Florence, Vienna around 1900 and Silicon Valley, walking the same paths as figures such as Socrates, Leonardo and Michelangelo to see whether whatever inspired them still lingers. Along the way he notes how earlier thinkers worked: Darwin's theory came together during a carriage ride, Freud thought best at a favorite coffeehouse, and Beethoven took long walks in the woods. His case rests on a reevaluation of how much culture matters in nurturing creativity. Weiner previously wrote The Geography of Bliss, a New York Times bestseller.
Walter Isaacson called it a witty mix of history and wisdom presented as a travelogue, and Adam Grant said it manages to make readers both laugh and learn. Daniel Gilbert praised it as part intellectual odyssey, part traveler's diary and part comic novel.
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This book has 4 recommendations
Colleen McCreary (CEO/CCKPartners)
The book just a great job describing how communities through the world and history were able to be more innovative than others. It contains some big surprises too.
Daniel Gilbert (Author)
Eric Weiner has single-handedly invented a new nonfiction genre in which a brilliant and hilarious writer leaves his home and family to circle the globe in search of the answer to a timeless question. The Geography of Genius is an intellectual odyssey, a traveler’s diary, and a comic novel all rolled into one. Smart, original, and utterly delightful, this is Weiner’s best book yet.
Walter Isaacson (Author)
Why do certain places produce a spontaneous eruption of creativity? What made Athens and Florence and Silicon Valley? This witty and fun book has an insight in every paragraph. It’s a charming mix of history and wisdom cloaked as a rollicking travelogue filled with colorful characters.
Adam Grant (Author)
It’s rare to read a book that makes you laugh and learn, but Eric Weiner has done it again. This witty, wise explorer offers fascinating insights on how culture has inspired creativity across the ages—ripe for chats at water coolers and cocktail parties—and offers a practical map for how we can all become a bit more inventive.
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