Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment » (with P.S.)

A longtime journalist and the former editor of several magazines, including Time and People, James R. Gaines lives with his family in Paris.

Johann Sebastian Bach created what may be the most celestial and profound body of music in history; Frederick the Great built the colossus we now know as Germany, and along with it a template for modern warfare. Their fleeting encounter in 1757 signals a unique moment in history where belief collided with the cold certainty of reason. Set at the tipping point between the ancient and modern world, Evening in the Palace of Reason captures the tumult of the eighteenth century, the legacy of the Reformation, and the birth of the Enlightenment in this extraordinary tale of two men.

The New York Times - Edmund Morris

While Gaines is no match for Hofstadter as a thinker or stylist (he tends to be chatty), he writes with admirable erudition. The story he tells is a reminder that there was once a time when heads of state valued high culture as much as high finance, and when artists won fame through mastery rather than media manipulation.

Here's a virtuoso performance of cultural history. James R. Gaines, the former managing editor for Time, Life, and People, strikes all the right chords with his mesmerizing story about the musical smackdown Bach put on Prussia's despot, Frederick the Great. With wit, erudition, and style, Gaines captures the tensions of the age and reveals a transformative moment in which Bach began his ascent to the pantheon of great musicians. The pleasures in this one leave us yelling, "Bravo."