"Evening in the Palace of Reason has given me enormous pleasure and instruction." - Jan Morris, author of A Writer's House in Wales "Gaines writes very accessibly.A marvelous story that will captivate the classical music audience." - Booklist "An eloquent and fascinating study, highly debatable at points yet all the more stimulating for that.Accessible and entertaining." - Time magazine "Gaines elegantly sketches parallel biographies of the two protagonists.His enthusiasm is infectious." - New York Sun "Intelligent, stylish, wryly witty, serious yet never solemn, and above all passionate in its celebration of a great composer.
" - The Guardian "James Gaines writes with great beauty and intelligence.an exciting saga that brings the turmoil of the Enlightenment alive." - Walter Isaacson, author of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN "History winningly told , with the immediacy of a great novel.Gaines paints a whole age with the skill of Tuchman." - Mary Karr, author of THE LIARS CLUB and CHERRY "Lively.with a delicious cast of characters.Gaines shows himself a deft writer." - Denver Post "Filled with sensible speculation and insights, Gaines' books is a model for humanities writing.
" - San Antonio Express-News "Highly entertaining. Lovers of music, European history, and Western philosophy will find this book an enormous pleasure." - Library Journal (starred review) "Gaines writes with admirable erudition.No author could want a more promising pair of antagonists." - New York Times Book Review "Gaines paints a whole age with the skill Barbara Tuchman brought to A Distant Mirror, or the antic wit of a writerly Hieronymous Bosch." - Mary Karr, author of The Liars' Club "A moving portrait . Gaines has a deep understanding of music and an infectious zeal for narrative history." - People, four stars "Articulate, well-informed and rigorous.
Gaines makes this dauntingly technical subject accessible." - Sunday Telegraph "Impossible to put down when one is dancing, swerving, stumbling through [the] extraordinary brilliance.a wonderfully engaging tale." - The Independent (Sunday) "First rate.[Gaines] writes superbly and makes us feel at home with things that would have sounded arcane otherwise." - Daily Telegraph (London) "A moving portrait.Gaines has a deep understanding of music and an infectious zeal for narrative history." - People (four stars) "Gaines maps sweeping cultural history with dazzling virtuosity.
You won't find a more lucid and engaging guide." - Entertainment Weekly "A book-length romp that is less like a B-Minor Mass than an Italian opera.Wonderful." - Harper's Magazine.