Description
Ginzburg addresses the question: "What is the exact distance that permits us to see things as they are?" He reflects on themes of feeling astray, of familiarization and defamiliarization, going on to consider the concepts of perspective, representation, imagery, and myth, and the recurring issue of the opposition between Jews and Christians.
About the Author
Carlo Ginzburg teaches at UCLA, where he is the Franklin D. Murphy Chair of Italian Renaissance Studies. His other books in English include The Cheese and the Worms, No Island Is an Island: Four Glances at English Literature in a World Perspective, Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches'Sabbath and The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.
Reviews
The essays show familiar qualities of Ginzburg's writing, his preference for unconventional perspectives, the vigour and sharpness of his reasoning and his mercurial yet highly disciplined intellectual zest. -- Luigi Meneghello Times Literary Supplement Although the text ranges over diverse sources, the essays are succinct and thought-provoking. Choice The scope of his primary sources-philosophers from Aristotle to Adorno, authors from the gospel writers to Proust, artists from Caravaggio to Magritte-befits a thinker of dazzling erudition and innovative brio... Ginzburg's work represents the finest in philosophical musings, as he coaxes the reader into new perceptions of the seemingly simple concept of distance, which he renders startlingly fresh. His breadth is intimidating, his depth daunting, and his conclusions staggering. Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Given Ginzburg's astonishing intellectual range - he dances with intimidating ease across half a dozen languages and two and a half millennia of writings, quoting his authorities with the easy familiarity of deep study - the essays dazzle as much as they inform. The book is an intellectual banquet. Ethics, Place and Environment
Book Information
ISBN 9780231119603
Author Carlo Ginzburg
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press