On the Shoulders of Giants (Hardcover)

A posthumous collection of essays by one of our greatest contemporary thinkers that provides a towering vision of Western culture. In Umberto Eco's first novel, The Name of the Rose, Nicholas of Morimondo laments, "We no longer have the learning of the ancients, the age of giants is past!" To which the protagonist, William of Baskerville, replies: "We are dwarfs, but dwarfs who stand on the shoulders of those giants, and small though we are, we sometimes manage to see farther on the horizon than they." On the Shoulders of Giants is a collection of essays based on lectures Eco famously delivered at the Milanesiana Festival in Milan over the last fifteen years of his life. Previously unpublished, the essays explore themes he returned to again and again in his writing: the roots of Western culture and the origin of language, the nature of beauty and ugliness, the potency of conspiracies, the lure of mysteries, and the imperfections of art. Eco examines the dynamics of creativity and considers how every act of innovation occurs in conversation with a superior ancestor. In these playful, witty, and breathtakingly erudite essays, we encounter an intellectual who reads comic strips, reflects on Heraclitus, Dante, and Rimbaud, listens to Carla Bruni, and watches Casablanca while thinking about Proust. On the Shoulders of Giants reveals both the humor and the colossal knowledge of a contemporary giant.

General

Imprint:	The Belknap Press
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	October 2019
Authors:	Umberto Eco
Translators:	Alastair McEwen
Dimensions:	210 x 140mm (L x W)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	336
ISBN-13:	978-0-674-24089-6
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Language & linguistics > Philosophy of language Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > General Books > Language & Literature > Literature: texts > Essays, journals, letters & other prose works > General
LSN:	0-674-24089-8
Barcode:	9780674240896

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!