Peter Gay Popular Books

Peter Gay Biography & Facts

Peter Joachim Gay (né Fröhlich; June 20, 1923 – May 12, 2015) was a German-American historian, educator, and author. He was a Sterling Professor of History at Yale University and former director of the New York Public Library's Center for Scholars and Writers (1997–2003). He received the American Historical Association's (AHA) Award for Scholarly Distinction in 2004. He authored over 25 books, including The Enlightenment: An Interpretation, a two-volume award winner; Weimar Culture: The Outsider as Insider (1968), a bestseller; and the widely translated Freud: A Life for Our Time (1988).Gay was born in Berlin in 1923 and emigrated, via Cuba, to the United States in 1941. From 1948 to 1955 he was a political science professor at Columbia University, and then a history professor from 1955 to 1969. He left Columbia in 1969 to join Yale University's History Department as Professor of Comparative and Intellectual European History and was named Sterling Professor of History in 1984.Gay was the interim editor of The American Scholar after the death of Hiram Haydn in 1973 and served on that magazine's editorial board for many years. Sander L. Gilman, a literary historian at Emory University, called Gay "one of the major American historians of European thought, period". Early life and education Born to a Jewish family in Berlin, he was educated as a child at Berlin's Goethe-Gymnasium. He and his family fled Nazi Germany in 1939, when he was 15 years old. Their original ticket was on the MS St. Louis, whose passengers were eventually turned away and forced to return to Europe, but they fortuitously changed their booking to the SS Iberia, which left two weeks earlier. Gay arrived in the United States in 1941, took American citizenship in 1946, and changed his name from Fröhlich (German for "happy") to Gay (an English calque). Gay was educated at the University of Denver, where he received his B.A. in 1946, and at Columbia University, where he received his M.A. in 1947 and his Ph.D. in 1951. Gay taught political science at Columbia between 1948–1955 and history from 1955 to 1969. He taught at Yale University from 1969 until his retirement in 1993. Career Scholarship According to the American Historical Association's Award Citation, Gay's range of "scholarly achievements is truly remarkable". The New York Times described him in 2007 as "the country's pre-eminent cultural historian".Gay's 1959 book, Voltaire's Politics: The Poet as Realist, examined Voltaire as a politician and how his politics influenced the ideas that Voltaire championed in his writings. Accompanying Voltaire's Politics was Gay's collection of essays, The Party of Humanity: Essays in the French Enlightenment (1964). Gay followed the success of Voltaire's Politics with a wider history of the Enlightenment, The Enlightenment: An Interpretation (1966, 1969, 1973), whose first volume won the 1967 U.S. National Book Award in History and Biography. Annelien de Dijn argues that Gay, in The Enlightenment, first formulated the interpretation that the Enlightenment brought political modernization to the West, in terms of introducing democratic values and institutions and the creation of modern, liberal democracies. While the thesis has many critics, it has been widely accepted by Anglophone scholars and has been reinforced by the large-scale studies by Robert Darnton, Roy Porter, and most recently by Jonathan Israel. His 1968 book, Weimar Culture, was a study on the cultural history of the Weimar Republic.Gay was also a champion of psychohistory and an admirer of Sigmund Freud. Starting in 1978 with Freud, Jews and Other Germans, an examination of the impact of Freudian ideas on German culture, his writing demonstrated an increasing interest in psychology. Many of his works focused on the social impact of psychoanalysis. For example, in A Godless Jew: Freud, Atheism, and the Making of Psychoanalysis, he linked Freud's atheism to his development of psychoanalysis as a field. He wrote history books applying Freud's theories to history, such as The Bourgeois Experience: From Victoria to Freud. He also edited a collection of Freud's writings called The Freud Reader. His writing was generally favorable, though occasionally critical, toward Freud's school of thought.Gay's 2007 book Modernism: The Lure of Heresy explores the modernist movement in the arts from the 1840s to the 1960s, from its beginnings in Paris to its spread to Berlin and New York City, ending with its death in the pop art of the 1960s. Personal life Gay married Ruth Slotkin (1922-2006) in 1959 and had three stepdaughters. Death Gay died at his home in Manhattan on May 12, 2015, at the age of 91. Awards and recognition Gay received numerous awards for his scholarship, including the National Book Award in History and Biography for The Rise of Modern Paganism (1967), the first volume of The Enlightenment; the first Amsterdam Prize for Historical Science from The Hague, 1990; and the Gold Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1992. He was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1967–68 and 1978–79; a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin, Germany; and an Overseas Fellow of Churchill College University from 1970 to 1971. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1987.In 1988, he was honored by The New York Public Library as a Library Lion. The following year, he was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Professor Gay held an ACLS Fellowship in 1959–60. He has also been recognized with several honorary doctorates. American Historical Association Award for Scholarly Distinction, 2004 Geschwister-Scholl-Preis (Munich, 1999) American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in History, 1992 Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Award for Historical Science, The A.H. Heineken Prize, 1990 American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, 1989 New York Public Library, Library Lion, 1988 National Book Award, 1967 Guggenheim Fellowship 1966 Bibliography Author The Dilemma of Democratic Socialism: Eduard Bernstein's Challenge to Marx, 1952. Voltaire's Politics: The Poet as Realist, 1959. The Party of Humanity: Essays in the French Enlightenment, 1964. The Enlightenment: An Interpretation: The Rise of Modern Paganism, 1966 — winner of the National Book Award. Reissued 1995. The Loss of Mastery: Puritan Historians in Colonial America, 1966. Weimar Culture: The Outsider as Insider, 1968. The Enlightenment: An Interpretation: The Science of Freedom, 1969. Reissued 1995. The Bridge of Criticism: Dialogues on the Enlightenment, 1970. Modern Europe to 1815, co-written with Robert Kiefer Webb, 1973. Style in History, 1974. Art and Act: On Causes in History: Manet, Gropius, Mondrian, 1976. Freud, Jews and Other Germans: Masters and Victims in Modernist Culture, 1978. The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, 5 vols., 1984–1998:The Education of the Senses (1984) The Tender Passion (1986) The Culti.... Discover the Peter Gay popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Peter Gay books.

Best Seller Peter Gay Books of 2024

  • Easy Beauty synopsis, comments

    Easy Beauty

    Chloé Cooper Jones

    Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Memoir or AutobiographyA New York Times Notable Book of 2022 Vulture’s #1 Memoir of 2022 A Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA TODAY, Time,...

  • Pegging Peter And Other Gay and Bisexual Love Stories synopsis, comments

    Pegging Peter And Other Gay and Bisexual Love Stories

    Ken James

    Supersexy six pack . . .A brand new story plus a smokin' sampler of Ken James' raw and romantic gay and bisexual love stories.The Hotwife and Her Husband (New)Big black stud Craig ...

  • For the Gay Stage synopsis, comments

    For the Gay Stage

    Drewey Wayne Gunn

    Previous surveys of the gay theatrical repertoire have concentrated on plays produced on Broadway or in London's West End. This comprehensive guide goes well beyond these earlier s...

  • Thompson, Peter E. the Triumphant Juan Rana. A Gay Actor of the Spanish Golden Age synopsis, comments

    Thompson, Peter E. the Triumphant Juan Rana. A Gay Actor of the Spanish Golden Age

    Hispanofila

    Thompson, Peter E. The Triumphant Juan Rana. A Gay Actor of the Spanish Golden Age. Toronto/Buffalo/London: University of Toronto Press, 2006. 183 pp. En los ultimos anos la critic...

  • The Confessions of an English Slave synopsis, comments

    The Confessions of an English Slave

    Yolanda Celbridge

    Introduced to the joys of barebottom discipline by lustful ladies, naval cadet Philip Demesne, posted to the Far East, painfully learns true submission from the voluptuous dominatr...

  • Bad Penny synopsis, comments

    Bad Penny

    Penny Birch

    Penny Birch is a very naughty girl, and this collection of stories shows just how far she'll go to prove it. It begins with her sexual awakening and goes on to cover the most eroti...

  • The First Time synopsis, comments

    The First Time

    Colton Underwood

    From former football player and star of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette comes a fascinating and eyeopening behindthescenes look at his dramafilled season on the hit reality show....

  • Against The Law synopsis, comments

    Against The Law

    Peter Wildeblood

    'This right which I claim for myself and for all those like me is the right to choose the person whom I love' Peter WildebloodIn March 1954 Peter Wildeblood, a London journalist, w...

  • Work. Love. Body. synopsis, comments

    Work. Love. Body.

    Jamila Rizvi & Helen McCabe

    In 2020, the lives of Australian women changed irrevocably. With insight, intelligence and empathy, Jane Gilmore, Santilla Chingaipe and Emily J. Brooks explore this through the le...

  • The Queer Evangelist synopsis, comments

    The Queer Evangelist

    Cheri DiNovo CM

    A queer minister, politician and staunch activist for LGBTQ rights, Cheri DiNovo went from living on the streets as a teenager to performing the first legalized samesex marriage re...

  • Queerstories synopsis, comments

    Queerstories

    Maeve Marsden

    There's more to being queer than coming out and getting married. This exciting and contemporary collection contains stories that are as diverse as the LGBTQIA+ community from which...

  • A Short History of Queer Women synopsis, comments

    A Short History of Queer Women

    Kirsty Loehr

    No, they weren’t ‘just friends’!Queer women have been written out of history since, well, forever. ‘But historians famously care about women!’, said no one. From Anne Bonny and Mar...

  • A Land of Never After synopsis, comments

    A Land of Never After

    R. L. Davennor

    All my life, I’ve dreamed of the sea. Mermaids, stormy skies, daring adventures, pirates…it was little wonder I sprinted to the docks the moment I left the orphanage. Eager to beg...

  • The Scandal synopsis, comments

    The Scandal

    Mari Hannah

    'Brand new series. Same topnotch writing.' Eva DolanWhen a young man is found stabbed to death in a side street in Newcastle city centre in the run up to Christmas, it looks like a...

  • The Christmas Jigsaw Murders synopsis, comments

    The Christmas Jigsaw Murders

    Alexandra Benedict

    THIS CHRISTMAS, A KILLER TAKES FAMILY GAMES TO A MURDEROUS NEW LEVEL. On 19th of December, renowned puzzle setter, loner and Christmas sceptic Edie O’Sullivan finds a handdeli...

  • Peter Darling synopsis, comments

    Peter Darling

    Austin Chant & Cristina Massaccesi

    I Ragazzi Smarriti dicono che Peter Pan sia tornato in Inghilterra a causa di Wendy Darling, ma Wendy è soltanto una vecchia vita che Peter si è lasciato alle spalle. L’Isola Cheno...

  • Kink synopsis, comments

    Kink

    R.O. Kwon & Garth Greenwell

    A New York Times Notable Book Kink is a groundbreaking anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire, BDSM, and interests across the sexual spectrum, edited by laud...

  • The Longest Goodbye synopsis, comments

    The Longest Goodbye

    Mari Hannah

    'My heart was in my throat' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review'Engrossed from page one' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader Review'This is Mari Hannah at her best' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Reader Review'More twists and turns than a fairgr...

  • THE DEATH OF PETER PAN synopsis, comments

    THE DEATH OF PETER PAN

    Barry Lowe

    To fall in love, really in love, would be an awfully big adventure. Renowned Scottish playwright, James Matthew Barrie, lies abed, unable to sleep, dreading the anniversary of one ...

  • Peter and Wendell synopsis, comments

    Peter and Wendell

    Bonnie Dee

    A historical romance with a wink and a nod toward Peter Pan.Peter Woods is content to live a gadfly life, darting from one experience to the next with no thought of responsibility,...

  • Londres gay synopsis, comments

    Londres gay

    Peter Ackroyd

    Historia de la homosexualidad, de los romanos a nuestros días.Con ilustraciones en b/n.No hay nadie que sepa tanto sobre Londres como Peter Ackroyd. En ningún sentido. Y ahora, con...

  • Peter und Sam Mein Herz ist undercover synopsis, comments

    Peter und Sam Mein Herz ist undercover

    Alisa Kevano

    Matthew Samuel Harper, ein junger Journalist, wagt sich undercover in die raue Welt einer Motorradgang, um eine explosive Story zu enthüllen. Doch er rechnet nicht mit Alex – dem...

  • Freddie Mercury synopsis, comments

    Freddie Mercury

    Laura Jackson

    THE DEFINITIVE, UPTODATE BIOGRAPHY OF FREDDIE MERCURY'An outstanding biography. . .a fitting testament to the creative genius' Daily Mail'Touches all manner of intriguing rock 'n'...

  • Wendy, Darling synopsis, comments

    Wendy, Darling

    A.C. Wise

    A lush, feminist reimagining on what happened to Wendy after Neverland, for fans of Circe and The Mere Wife.LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST NOVELFind the second star from the r...

  • Pursuing Peter synopsis, comments

    Pursuing Peter

    Amber Kell

    Peter Woods had never expected to find a soulmate. After his time spent as a mutant, turning into a wolf had become a painful transformation.Quain Ilves planned on spending his lif...

  • Hooked synopsis, comments

    Hooked

    A.C. Wise

    A dark, gorgeous reimagining about what happened to Captain Hook after Neverland from the bestselling author of Wendy, Darling – filled with eerie suspense and heartbreaking anguis...

  • Peter Passenger and the Mothman synopsis, comments

    Peter Passenger and the Mothman

    Rafe Jadison

    When Peter Passenger's parents die, he becomes a man on a mission: a mission to find their killer, and a mission to find answers to those things his family has researched his entir...

  • Such Good Friends synopsis, comments

    Such Good Friends

    Stephen Greco

    THE CAN'T MISS READALONG FOR FEUD: CAPOTE VS. THE SWANS! “Fans of Capote and the era of Camelot should be delighted.”  Shana Abé, New York Times bestselling author of The Seco...

  • The Bottle-Top King synopsis, comments

    The Bottle-Top King

    Jonathan Kebbe

    RESPECT. That's what Lewis wants from his classmates. Nicknamed USELESS LEWIS or LOO BRUSH, he's fed up with his stammer, fed up that he can't pluck up the nerve to join the drama ...

  • Peter Passenger and the Mothman synopsis, comments

    Peter Passenger and the Mothman

    Rafe Jadison

    When Peter Passenger's parents die, he becomes a man on a mission: a mission to find their killer, and a mission to find answers to those things his family has researched his entir...

  • Peter Cabot Gets Lost synopsis, comments

    Peter Cabot Gets Lost

    Cat Sebastian

    Summer 1960:After years of scraping by, Caleb Murphy has graduated from college and is finally getting to start a new life. Except he suddenly has no way to get from Boston to Los ...