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Why is it now more important than ever?
In 1993, Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge spent fifty days walking solo across Antarctica, becoming the first person to reach the South Pole alone, accompanied only by a radio whose batteries he had removed before setting out. In this book. an astonishing and transformative meditation, Kagge explores the silence around us, the silence within us, and the silence we must create. By recounting his own experiences and discussing the observations of poets, artists, and explorers, Kagge shows us why silence is essential to sanity and happiness—and how it can open doors to wonder and gratitude.
(With full-color photographs throughout.)
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
November 21, 2017 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780525635161
- File size: 59536 KB
- Duration: 02:04:01
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Listeners hear sirens, traffic, and phones at the start of Erling Kagge's meditation on silence. The noises demonstrate Kagge's need for silence, and various sounds pop up here and there throughout to illustrate or punctuate his points. Narrator Atli Gunnarsson's voice conveys Kagge's feelings well, whether it's the joy of listening to nature at the South Pole or the irritation of noisy everyday life as a publisher in Oslo, Norway. Kagge touches on every aspect of his theme, even the way birds' songs adapt to compete with human noise. The essays are brief, but the adept voice work and ambient sound effects work together well to help Kagge make the case for finding inner silence. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine -
June 12, 2017
Kagge (Under Manhattan), an explorer and publisher, provides 33 answers to three linked questions he poses to himself—“What is silence? Where is it? Why is it more important now than ever?”—in short, meditative essays. The book expands the concepts of silence and noise beyond their aural definitions and engages with modern culture’s information overload, need for constant connection, and cult of busyness. Kagge draws on his experiences as an explorer, including a solo sojourn to the South Pole and a climb up the Williamsburg Bridge, and on more mundane experiences such as his daily commute. He also takes inspiration from famous people as various as Seneca, Kierkegaard, Elon Musk, and Rihanna. An intentionally scattershot bibliography (“an attempt at listing those sources I can easily recall”) may frustrate those wishing to read further. Kagge writes accessibly and economically, supplementing the text with the occasional inclusion of art and photographs. He raises some intriguing ideas—regarding, for example, inequities in access to silence and the concept of silence as a luxury—that could benefit from more examination, but the format requires that he provide only minimal analysis. Great pleasure lies in Kagge’s creative investigations. The reader leaves more mindful of the swirl of distraction present in everyday life.
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