Richard Watson. Cogito, Ergo Sum: The Life of René Descartes. David R. Godine Publisher. 2002. 375pp.

From the publisher:

This is the first biography of Rene Descartes published since 1920 to be based on extensive original archival research. It is also explicitly the life of Descartes, in the flesh and blood, not a compendium of technical analyses of philosophical positions found in ‘life and works’ biographies so dear to contemporary professional philosophers. Watson brings Descartes and his milieu to life as has never been done before.

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