Blamed for the bloody disasters of the 20th century: Auschwitz, globalisation, Islamic terrorism; heralded as the harbinger of reason, equality, and the end of arbitrary rule, the Enlightenment has been nothing if not divisive. Kieron O'Hara presents the history, politics, science, religion, arts, and social life of the Enlightenment and shows how it spawned some of the brightest thinkers in the history of humankind.