Alan Schom, former professor of French and European history at the University of California, Riverside, and Southern Connecticut State University, has written a monumental and richly detailed biography of the life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Despite a plethora of texts on the great man, describing his many exploits and the myths of his effect on Europe during his reign from 1795-1815,…...

What is infinity? In life and mathematics alike, it is an abstract concept referring to something that is endless and limitless. Philosophers and mathematicians of yore, from ancient Greeks like Plato and Aristotle, to Renaissance thinkers such as Isaac Newton and Galileo, had tackled this subject, only to be baffled by its seemingly unresolvable contradictions and paradoxes. It wasn’t until…...

One of the most singularly talented pianists of all time, Franz Liszt (1811—1886) dominated the musical world of the 19th century. An unrivaled virtuoso who also composed his own music, Liszt laid the bedrock for the Late Romantic and Impressionistic schools that would follow after him. To this day he is considered a musical genius who ranks alongside his contemporaries…...