Umberto Eco has written works of fiction, literary criticism and philosophy. His first novel, The Name of the Rose, was a major international bestseller. His other works include Foucault's Pendulum, The Island of the Day Before, Baudolino, The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana and The Prague Cemetery, along with many brilliant collections of essays.
Whether discussing the relationship between our knowledge and God, abortion, stem cells, embryos, the right to life, or reviews of James Joyce's Ulysses by fascist journalists of the 1920s and 1930s, this collection gleams with clarity, depth and wisdom * The Good Book Guide * For the sheer depth and clarity of his learning and wisdom, Eco has no living rival * Harpers Baazar * [A] philosophical football match that encompasses myth, literature and history... Discursive, grandiose, witty stuff from the quintessential savvy professor * Monocle * Eco's greatest virtue might be said to lie in his ability to clarify the exact nature of our present perplexities...lucid, logical and always firmly on the side of civilisation * TLS * Eco's writing has a unique ability to dance on the page and to resonate in the mind * Daily Telegraph *