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Learn moreIan Buruma explores the life and death of Baruch Spinoza, the Enlightenment thinker whose belief in freedom of thought and speech resonates in our own time
Baruch (Benedictus) Spinoza (1632–1677) was a radical free thinker who led a life guided by strong moral principles despite his disbelief in an all-seeing God. Seen by many as Satan's disciple during his lifetime, Spinoza has been regarded as a secular saint since his death. Many contradictory beliefs have been attached to his name: rationalism or metaphysics, atheism or pantheism, liberalism or despotism, Jewishness or anti-Semitism. However, there is no question that he viewed freedom of thought and speech as essential to an open and free society.
In this insightful account, the award-winning author Ian Buruma stresses the importance of the time and place that shaped Spinoza, beginning with the Sephardim of Amsterdam and followed by the politics of the Dutch Republic. Though Spinoza rejected the basic assumptions of his family's faith, and was consequently expelled from his Sephardic community, Buruma argues that Spinoza did indeed lead a modern Jewish life. To Heine, Hess, Marx, Freud, and no doubt many others today, Spinoza exemplified how to be Jewish without believing in Judaism. His defense of universal freedom is as important for our own time as it was in his.
Ian Buruma is the author of several books, including A Tokyo Romance, Their Promised Land, Year Zero, The China Lover, Murder in Amsterdam, Occidentalism, God's Dust, Behind the Mask, The Wages of Guilt, Bad Elements, and Taming the Gods.
Lee Beddow has been in and around audio recording for nearly forty years. He started with his own studio, AbbeySound, a music recording facility that he set up when he was eighteen. The studio is situated in a former convent, and AbbeySound currently resides in what was once the nun's dormitories! For many years, teaching was Lee's regular work, but he continued to do voice-over work. Now, he has decided to make his voice and production skills his focus. Lee can narrate scripts, audiobooks, master the audio with correct levels, chapter marks and spacing, as well as produce bespoke music for authors that want that extra touch in their productions. He has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks, with many series utilizing his ability to mimic lots of both British and world accents, with work ranging from mysteries and sci-fi to comedy and all-action thrillers, plus children's, romance, and instructional titles. Lee is married to Jackie with two children, James and Holly, and an American Cocker Spaniel called Reuben.