The Ruin of Kasch

In this brilliant work Roberto Calasso cracks the code of what Baudelaire named the Modern--the increasingly murderous period from the French Revolution to the end of World War II. From Talleyrands France and the legendary African city of Kasch to Lenins Russia and the killing fields of Cambodia Calasso leads us along an enticing maze of mythology literature art and science to the pulsing heart of civilization where he deciphers the deepest secrets of history.