The book is compelling enough to be read all at once or in short bursts — however Spirit moves the reader.
by Joan Konner
Whether a subject of dread or of fascination, nothing (often spelled with a capital “N”) has intrigued writers, philosophers and scientists since ancient times. In this sound-bite history of the concept of nothing, Konner has created a unique anthology devoted to, well, … nothing.
The collection brings together, in one portable volume, the thoughts of well-known writers and philosophers, artists and musicians, poets and playwrights, and geniuses and jokers, demonstrating that some of the finest minds explored, feared, confronted, experienced and played with the real or imagined presence of nothing in their lives.
Paradoxical? Yes, indeed. The book, like many Eastern sages and deep thinkers in the West, also recognizes and ponders nonexistence as an essential component and complement of existence itself.
Organized in short topical chapters from “Knowing Nothing” to the “Joy of Unknowing” and “Nothing is Sacred,” the verbal snapshots captured in this collection create a coherent work of insight, wisdom, humor and wonder. The book is compelling enough to be read all at once or in short bursts — however Spirit moves the reader.
$17 hardcover — Prometheus Books, 59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-9827.
Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 28, Number 6, December 2009/January 2010.
April 15, 2012
Book review