A gripping portrait of the man considered the last universal genius that takes us on a mind-expanding journey through the history of ideas

‘The Leibniz biography for our time. It is difficult to even begin to do justice to his rich spirit, but Kempe succeeds’ Daniel Kehlmann, author of Measuring the World

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was one of history’s most astounding thinkers, a universal genius akin to Leonardo da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin, but comparatively little known. In this mind-expanding biography, historian Michael Kempe charts a thrilling course through Leibniz’s work, illuminating the continued impact of his unparalleled contributions to knowledge.

Recreating seven crucial days in Leibniz’s life, Kempe shows us a great mind in action, surging with ideas that would change the course of mathematics and philosophy, even laying early foundations for modern digital culture. We find him in Paris, working from his bed amidst a sea of notes when he puts the basis for modern calculus to paper for the first time; and in Vienna, enjoying a coffee as he discovers unforeseen links between biology and mathematics.

Convinced that everything was profoundly interconnected, Leibniz was driven by an exhilarating optimism that allowed him to build bridges between faith and reason, physics and metaphysics – and to harness the endless potential of a single mind on a single day.