
The final collection from the bestselling author of The Name of the Rose and one of the mostinfluential, 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
From the Publisher


ASIN : 0544104684
Publisher : HarperVia
Publication date : September 24, 2013
Edition : F First Paperback Edition Used
Language : English
Print length : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 9780544104686
ISBN-13 : 978-0544104686
Item Weight : 7.2 ounces
Dimensions : 5.31 x 0.62 x 8 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #999,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #20 in Italian Literary Criticism (Books) #96 in 21st Century Literary Criticism (Books) #215 in Literary Speeches