{"product_id":"the-genius-myth-a-curious-history-of-a-dangerous-idea-9781529967661","title":"The Genius Myth: A Curious History of a Dangerous Idea","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Sunday Times bestselling take-down of the genius myth, exploring the surprising history of invention, inspiration and distortion by which some lives are elevated to 'greatness' - and the unexpected consequences for us all.  'This is the book we need right now' CAROLINE CRIADO PEREZ  'Lucid, funny and fascinating' ADAM BUXTON  The tech disruptor. The tortured poet. The rebellious scientist. The monstrous artist.  You can tell what a society values by who it labels as a genius. You can also tell who it excludes, who it enables, and what it is prepared to tolerate.  Taking us from the Renaissance Florence of Leonardo da Vinci to the Floridian rocket launches of Elon Musk's SpaceX, Helen Lewis unravels a word that we all use - without really questioning what it means - and asks if the modern idea of genius is distorting our view of the world.  'Brilliant, timely and compulsively readable' OLIVER BURKEMAN  'A provocative, witty book' TLS\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781529967661\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 20 Oct 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Vintage Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 19.7(H)x12.7(L)x2.3(W)234\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 234\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eHelen Lewis (Afterword by, Author)   Helen Lewis is a staff writer at The Atlantic, based in London, who writes about politics and culture. Her first book, Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights, was a Sunday Times bestseller and a Guardian, Telegraph and Financial Times book of the year. She is the writer and presenter of the BBC podcast series The New Gurus and Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat, and co-host of Radio 4's Kafka vs Orwell and Strong Message Here. She won the 2024 Kukula Award for excellence in non-fiction book reviewing.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cb\u003eA brilliant, timely and compulsively readable book\u003c\/b\u003e. With her characteristic combination of deep reporting and lightness of touch, Helen Lewis shows how the idea of genius has warped our understanding of human creativity – and why people of vast accomplishment in one domain can prove so destructively clueless in others. -- OLIVER BURKEMAN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis is the book we need right now. Smart, funny and full of surprises,\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Genius Myth\u003c\/i\u003e takes aim at our cultish worship of Great Men. \u003cb\u003eAn indispensable companion to our times.\u003c\/b\u003e -- CAROLINE CRIADO PEREZ\u003cbr\u003eTypically \u003cb\u003elucid, funny and fascinating\u003c\/b\u003e. Not so much a debunking of \"genius\" as a highly entertaining exploration of why we want it to exist. -- Adam Buxton\u003cbr\u003eHelen Lewis argues that \"genius\" lies in the eye of the beholder. \u003cb\u003eWell, my own eyes saw genius when they read this book.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Lucy Worsley\u003cbr\u003eLewis issues an effective call for a more carefully tempered understanding of genius in our precarious times, one that celebrates creativity, innovation, and achievement rather than idolizing a maker’s rarity and eccentricity. \u003cb\u003eBy degrees unsettling, amusing, and prescient; a much-needed audit of a consuming idea.\u003c\/b\u003e * Kirkus Reviews *\u003cbr\u003e[A] witty book… \u003cb\u003eLewis is brilliantly perceptive\u003c\/b\u003e * Observer *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e[A] provocative, witty book…\u003c\/b\u003e [Lewis shows that] Genius is no longer synonymous with impunity. The myth is changing * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOriginal and painfully timely\u003c\/b\u003e * Economist *\u003cbr\u003eLewis is such \u003cb\u003ea well-read guide \u003c\/b\u003eto intelligence… she is \u003cb\u003einsightful\u003c\/b\u003e on the loneliness of the very intelligent * Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003e[A] \u003cb\u003ewitty and timely\u003c\/b\u003e critique of a perennially problematic concept * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e[An] \u003cb\u003eentertaining \u003c\/b\u003ebook * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLewis is one of the best political journalists around… \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Genius Myth\u003c\/i\u003e…is equally lively and illuminating [as \u003ci\u003eDifficult Women\u003c\/i\u003e] * Critic *\u003cbr\u003eBreezy and entertaining * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eIt is when Lewis slows down and burrows into a subject that things get interesting. A case in point is her excellent investigation into how the \"IQ Wars\" took hold of scientists in the late 19th century, with devastating results. * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOriginal\u003c\/b\u003e * Economist, *Books of the Year* *\u003cbr\u003e[A]\u003cb\u003e hugely entertaining\u003c\/b\u003e book * The York Press *","brand":"Helen Lewis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50837514944729,"sku":"9781529967661","price":26.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781529967661.jpg?v=1793105008","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/the-genius-myth-a-curious-history-of-a-dangerous-idea-9781529967661","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}