Inventing the Enemy

The final collection from the bestselling author of The Name of the Rose and one of the most influential, and entertaining, intellectuals of the last century--essays full of passion, curiosity, and obsession. "Underscores the writer''s profound erudition, lively wit, and passion for ideas of all shapes and sizes . . . Eco''s pleasure in such explorations is obvious and contagious." -- Booklist The essays in Inventing the Enemy cover a wide range of topics on which Eco wrote and lectured, including a disquisition on the theme that runs through his novel The Prague Cemetery --every country needs an enemy, and if it doesn''t have one, must invent it; a discussion of ideas that inspired his earlier novels (and in the process he takes us on an exploration of lost islands, mythical realms, and the medieval world); an examination of Saint Thomas Aquinas''s notions about the soul of an unborn child; and censorship, violence, and WikiLeaks. "True wit and wisdom coexist with fierce scholarship inside Umberto Eco, a writer who actually knows a thing or two about being truly human." -- Buffalo News "Thought provoking . . . nuanced . . . the collection amply shows off Eco''s sophisticated, agile mind." -- Publishers Weekly

Product details

• Authors: Umberto Eco, Eco Umberto
• Assisted by: Richard Dixon (Translation)
• Publisher: Harper Collins Usa
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 24.09.2013
• EAN: 9780544104686
• ISBN: 978-0-544-10468-6
• No. of pages: 240
• Dimensions: 135 mm x 203 mm x 16 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; France, Germany, Short Stories, Philosophy, Italy, Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000, Literature: history and criticism, Speeches, Literary studies: from c 2000, LITERARY COLLECTIONS: Essays, PHILOSOPHY: Essays, LITERARY COLLECTIONS: Letters, LITERARY COLLECTIONS: Speeches, LITERARY CRITICISM: Short Stories, LITERARY CRITICISM: European / French, LITERARY CRITICISM: Modern / 20th Century, LITERARY CRITICISM: Modern / 21st Century, LITERARY CRITICISM: European / Italian, LITERARY CRITICISM: Modern / 19th Century, LITERARY CRITICISM: European / German