Paul Strathern (born 1940) is a Scots-Irish writer and academic.

Strathern was born in London, and studied philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin,^[1] after which he served in the Merchant Navy over a period of two years. He then lived on a Greek island.^[2] In 1966, he travelled overland to India and the Himalayas. His novel A Season in Abyssinia won a Somerset Maugham Award in 1972.^[3]

Besides five novels, he has also written books on science, philosophy, history, literature, medicine and economics. He is the author of two series of short introductory books: Philosophers in 90 Minutes and The Big Idea: Scientists Who Changed the World.

His book on the history of chemistry entitled Mendeleyev's Dream (2000) was short-listed for the Aventis Prize, and his works have been translated into over two dozen languages. He is the author of The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Napoleon in Egypt, and The Artist, the Philosopher and the Warrior: Leonardo, Machiavelli and Borgia - a fateful collusion (2009) and The Spirit of Venice: from Marco Polo to Casanova (2012). His recent works include The Periodic Table (2015), Quacks, Rogues and Charlatans (2015) and The Borgias (2019) Rise and Fall: A History of the World in Ten Empires (2019). The Florentines: from Dante to Galileo (Atlantic 2021).

His work on economic history Dr Strangelove's Game (2001) was chosen as a Google business book of the year. His book Ten Cities that Changed The World (2022) was chosen as a Waterstones History Book of the Year.

Strathern was a lecturer at Kingston University, where he taught philosophy and mathematics. He has one daughter.

List of books

Novels

• Pass by the Sea: A Novel (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968)
• A Season in Abyssinia: An Impersonation of Arthur Rimbaud (London: Macmillan, 1972; reissued London: Faber and Faber, 2014)
• One Man's War (London: Quartet Books, 1973; reprinted 1974)
• Vaslav: An Impersonation of Nijinsky (London: Quartet Books, 1975)
• The Adventures of Spiro (Brighton: Harvester Press, 1979)

Popular history

• Exploration by Land (Silk and Spices Routes Series; London: Belitha Press for UNESCO, 1993); published in Irish as Bóthar an tSíoda: taiscéalaíocht thar tír (Baile Átha Cliath [i.e. Dublin]: An Gúm, 2000)
• Mendeleyev's Dream: The Quest for the Elements (London: Hamish Hamilton, 2000; US edn. New York: St. Martins Press, 2001; reissued London: Penguin, 2001)
• Dr Strangelove's Game: A Brief History of Economic Genius (London: Hamish Hamilton, 2001; reissued London: Penguin, 2002); also published as A Brief History of Economic Genius (New York; London: Texere, 2002)
• The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance (London: Jonathan Cape, 2003; reissued London: Vintage Books, 2007); also published as The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance (New York: Pegasus Books, 2016); published in Italian as I Medici: potere, denaro e ambizione (I volti della storia, no. 427; Pisa: Newton Compton, 2017) and Russian
• A Brief History of Medicine from Hippocrates to Gene Therapy (London: Robinson, 2005)
• Napoleon in Egypt: The Greatest Glory (London: Jonathan Cape, 2007; reissued London: Vintage, 2008)
• The Artist, the Philosopher and the Warrior: Leonardo, Machiavelli and Borgia. A Fateful Collusion (London: Jonathan Cape, 2009; reissued London: Vintage, 2010)
• Death in Florence: the Medici, Savonarola and the Battle for the Soul of the Renaissance City (London: Jonathan Cape, 2011; reissued London: Vintage, 2012)
• The Spirit of Venice: from Marco Polo to Casanova (London: Jonathan Cape, 2012; reissued London: Pimlico, 2013; digital edn. London: Vintage Digital, 2012)
• The Periodic Table (The Knowledge Series, no. 3; London: Quadrille, 2015)
• Quacks, Rogues and Charlatans of the R[oyal] C[ollege of] P[hysicians]: 50 Books from the College Collection (500 Reflections on the R[oyal] C[ollege of] P[hysicians], 1518-2018; London: Little, Brown, 2016)
• The Borgias: Power and Fortune (Atlantic 2019)
• Rise and Fall: A History of the World in Ten Empires (Hodder 2019)
• The Florentines: from Dante to Galileo (Atlantic 2021)
• Ten Cities That Changed The World (Hodder 2022)
• The Other Renaissance: From Copernicus to Shakespeare (Atlantic 2022)

Philosophers in 90 Minutes/Virgin Philosophers

• Wittgenstein (1889-1951) in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as The Essential Wittgenstein (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• Hume (1711-76) in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as The Essential Hume (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002); published in French as Hume, je connais! (Air de savoir. Série Les philosophes, je connais; Paris: Mallard Editions, 1998)
• Kant (1724-1804) in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as The Essential Kant (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• Locke (1632-1704) in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996)
• Descartes in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: I.R. Dee, 1996); reissued as The Essential Descartes (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• Plato (428-348 BC) in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as The Essential Plato (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• Aristotle (384-322 BC) in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as The Essential Aristotle (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• Nietzsche (1844-1900) in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as The Essential Nietzsche (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• St. Augustine in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1997)
• Sartre in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1998); reissued as The Essential Sartre (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• Machiavelli in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1998); reissued as The Essential Machiavelli (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• Confucius in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1999); reissued as The Essential Confucius (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• Foucault in 90 Minutes (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2000); reissued as The Essential Foucault (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• Marx in 90 Minutes Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2001); reissued as The Essential Marx (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• The Essential Derrida (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2003)
• The Essential Hegel (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2003)
• The Essential Rousseau (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002)
• The Essential Socrates (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2003)
• The Essential Spinoza (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2003)

Great Writers in 90 Minutes

• Beckett in 90 minutes (London:Ivan R.Dee, 2004)
• Dostoievsky in 90 minutes (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2004)
• Garcia Marquez in 90 minutes (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2004)
• Kafka in 90 minutes (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2004)
• Nabokov in 90 minutes (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2004)
• James Joyce in 90 minutes (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2005)
• D.H.Lawrence in 90 minutes (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2005)
• Hemingway in 90 minutes (London:Ivan R.Dee, 2005)
• Virginia Woolf in 90 minutes (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2005)
• Borges in 90 minutes (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2006)
• Tolstoy in 90 minutes (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2006)

The Big Idea: Scientists Who Changed the World

• Pythagoras & His Theorem (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997)
• Turing & the Computer (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997)
• Hawking & Black Holes (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997)
• Newton & Gravity (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997)
• Crick, Watson & DNA (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997)
• Einstein & Relativity (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997)
• Galileo & the Solar System (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998)
• Bohr & Quantum Theory (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998)
• Oppenheimer & the Bomb (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998)
• Curie & Radioactivity (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998)
• Archimedes & the Fulcrum (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998)
• Darwin & Evolution (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998)

Travel

• Greece and the Greek Islands: The Versatile Guide (London: Duncan Petersen, 1994; 2nd edn. 1996)
• Florida: Travel Planner & Guide (London: Duncan Petersen, 1996)
• Australia : Travel Planner & Guide (London: Duncan Peterson, 1997)