Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) is now recognized as one of the fathers of modern philosophy and political theory. In his own time he was as famous for his work in physics, geometry, and religion. He associated with some of the greatest writers, scientists, and politicians of his age including Ben Jonson, Galileo and King Charles II. The list of his enemies is no less impressive: Robert Boyle, René Descartes, and Edward Hyde, the earl of Clarendon. His life was a long, rich, and intensely controversial one. On the eve of the English Civil War he fled the king's enemies and settled in France, where he wrote his masterpiece, Leviathan. Ten years later, fearing the French Catholic clergy, he returned to England, only to have Anglican bishops try to have him burned at the stake as an atheist fifteen years thereafter. The controversy surrounding his life never abated: the Catholic Church placed his books on the Index, and Oxford University dismissed faculty for being 'Hobbists'. A. P. Martinich has written the most complete and accessible biography of Hobbes available. The book takes full account of the historical and cultural context in which Hobbes lived, drawing on both published and unpublished sources. It will be a great resource for philosophers, political theorists, and historians of ideas. The clear, crisp prose style will also ensure that the book appeals to general readers with an interest in the history of philosophy, the rise of modern science, and the English Civil War. "…the best all-around biography of Thomas Hobbes available." — David Johnston "This is a brilliantly written, witty, accurate, and absorbing account of the turbulent period in which Hobbes lived and wrote. It deals with such subjects as the rise of modern science, religious discord, the rejection of political absolutism, and civil war. Its scope is extraordinary." — Avrom Stroll