Blaise Pascal

Readable and expert - a brilliant guide to the life and thought of 17th century Europes supreme polymath
Tom Holland

A richly detailed account of Pascals life and times, which displays an energetic sympathy for Pascals startling combination of intellectual precocity and humble faith.
Rory Stewart

A beautiful, accessible account of one of the eras most remarkable lives
Katherine Rundell

He lived for just 39 years, yet Blaise Pascal was one of the most remarkable and creative figures of the seventeenth century.

He is known for his famous (though often misunderstood) argument the Wager, but theres so much more to him than that. Pascal can lay claim to have built an early version of the modern computer, done ground-breaking work in mathematics and geometry, invented urban bus transport and virtually invented probability theory. He also produced one of the most haunting and effective works of Christian apologetics ever written. He is a major intellectual figure at the beginning of the modern age who blends together in his own person and thinking issues that are critical to our age. Blaise Pascal is therefore a crucial figure: not just in the history of European thought, but for how he can shed light on our many contemporary debates.
From science to scepticism; mystical experience to distraction; religion to politics, self-love and death, Pascals thinking was far-reaching. In this captivating biography, Graham Tomlin explores Pascals short but extraordinary life, and the sweeping impact and relevance of his ideas to the modern world.