What?: Are These the 20 Most Important Questions in Human History--Or is This a Game of 20 Questions?
by Mark Kurlansky | Philosophy | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 0802779069 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 0802779069 Global Overview for this book
Registered by BethanieKay of Melbourne, Florida USA on 3/10/2011
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
Picked this up for $1 at a book sale at work. It's a very small book, so will be perfect for tucking in my carry-on bag -- as I plan to release it in the wild or hand it off to Bookcrossers I meet during my travels.
Synopsis:
What is What? Could it be that noted author Mark Kurlansky has written a very short, terrifically witty, deeply thought-provoking book entirely in the form of questions? A book that draws on philosophy, religion, literature, policy-indeed, all of civilization-to ask what may well be the twenty most important questions in human history? Or has he given us a really smart, impossibly amusing game of twenty questions? Kurlansky considers the work of Confucius, Plato, Gertrude Stein, Shakespeare, Descartes, Nietzsche, Freud, Hemingway, Emily Dickinson, the Talmud, Charles de Gaulle, Virginia Woolf, and others, distilling the deep questions of life to their sparkling essence. What? supplies endless fodder for thoughtful conversation but also endless opportunity to ponder and be challenged by-and entertained by-these questions in refreshingly original ways. As Kurlansky says, In a world that seems devoid of absolute certainties, how can we make declarative statements? Without asking the questions, how will we ever get to the answers? "Why are we here? Why is all of this here? Why do we die? What is death? What does it mean that outer space is infinite and what is after infinity? What is the significance of birdflight, why does matter decay, and how is our life different from that of a mosquito? Is there an end to these questions or is questioning as infinite as space?" With his striking black-and-white woodcut illustrations throughout, this handsome volume is a tour de force that packs a tremendous wallop in a deliciously compact package.
Synopsis:
What is What? Could it be that noted author Mark Kurlansky has written a very short, terrifically witty, deeply thought-provoking book entirely in the form of questions? A book that draws on philosophy, religion, literature, policy-indeed, all of civilization-to ask what may well be the twenty most important questions in human history? Or has he given us a really smart, impossibly amusing game of twenty questions? Kurlansky considers the work of Confucius, Plato, Gertrude Stein, Shakespeare, Descartes, Nietzsche, Freud, Hemingway, Emily Dickinson, the Talmud, Charles de Gaulle, Virginia Woolf, and others, distilling the deep questions of life to their sparkling essence. What? supplies endless fodder for thoughtful conversation but also endless opportunity to ponder and be challenged by-and entertained by-these questions in refreshingly original ways. As Kurlansky says, In a world that seems devoid of absolute certainties, how can we make declarative statements? Without asking the questions, how will we ever get to the answers? "Why are we here? Why is all of this here? Why do we die? What is death? What does it mean that outer space is infinite and what is after infinity? What is the significance of birdflight, why does matter decay, and how is our life different from that of a mosquito? Is there an end to these questions or is questioning as infinite as space?" With his striking black-and-white woodcut illustrations throughout, this handsome volume is a tour de force that packs a tremendous wallop in a deliciously compact package.
I'm going to take this book with me on my upcoming trip to Europe. I plan to release it somewhere in Prague, Czech Republic. I'm not quite sure where I will release it -- but will make release notes as soon as I can after I do!
>^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^<
To the finder of this book:
Hello and congratulations!
You have not only found yourself a good book, but a whole community of booklovers dedicated to sharing books with each other and the world at large.
I hope you'll stick around a bit and get to know BookCrossing --maybe even make a journal entry on this book to let me know it's been found. You may choose to remain anonymous or to join (it's free!).
Feel free to read and keep this book, or to pass it on to a friend or even set it out "in the wild" for someone else to find like you did.
If you do choose to join Bookcrossing and make a journal entry, then you can watch the book as it travels -- You'll be alerted by email each time someone makes another journal entry. It's all confidential (you're known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), free, and spam-free.
If you decide to join Bookcrossing, please feel free to indicate that I, BethanieKay, referred you when you set up your free online profile!
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single release!!
Happy Reading!
>^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< >^..^<
To the finder of this book:
Hello and congratulations!
You have not only found yourself a good book, but a whole community of booklovers dedicated to sharing books with each other and the world at large.
I hope you'll stick around a bit and get to know BookCrossing --maybe even make a journal entry on this book to let me know it's been found. You may choose to remain anonymous or to join (it's free!).
Feel free to read and keep this book, or to pass it on to a friend or even set it out "in the wild" for someone else to find like you did.
If you do choose to join Bookcrossing and make a journal entry, then you can watch the book as it travels -- You'll be alerted by email each time someone makes another journal entry. It's all confidential (you're known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), free, and spam-free.
If you decide to join Bookcrossing, please feel free to indicate that I, BethanieKay, referred you when you set up your free online profile!
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single release!!
Happy Reading!
Journal Entry 3 by BethanieKay at Prague Castle: west entrance gates in Praha, Praha Czech Republic on Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Released 13 yrs ago (4/12/2011 UTC) at Prague Castle: west entrance gates in Praha, Praha Czech Republic
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book on the stone wall of the fence on the western side of the Prague Castle entrance gates, to the left of the guard shack (if you're facing the entrance). The bag is safe and dry inside a Bookcrossing plastic baggie, since it rained today. I hope someone will find it and/or journal it!
