A former management consultant traces his rise as an unlikely business guru, sharing scathing critiques of popular business authorities from Frederick Taylor to Tom Peters while offering insights into the management industry itself.

Philosophy in the late seventeenth century was a dangerous business. No careerist could afford to side with the reclusive philosopher and "atheist Jew" Spinoza. Yet the ambitious young genius Leibniz became obsessed with Spinoza's writings, wrote him clandestine letters, and ultimately called on Spinoza in person at his home in The Hague. Both men were at the center of the intense religious, political, and personal battles that gave birth to the modern...