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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionsIn Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noiseby George Prochnik
Review-A-Day"The first widely observed national moment of silence occurred in Britain in 1919, in commemoration of the nation's inaugural Armistice Day. For two minutes, switchboard operators declined to connect telephone calls, subway cars and factory wheels ground to a halt, and ordinary citizens held their tongues. Within 10 years, the somber annual tradition had grown so popular that the BBC began to air the sound of the silence. One broadcaster mused that the communal silence served as a "solvent which destroys personalities and gives us leave to be great and universal." Megan Buskey, The Wilson Quarterly (read the entire Wilson Quarterly review) Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:More than money, power, and even happiness, silence has become the most precious — and dwindling — commodity of our modern world. Between iPods, music-blasting restaurants, earsplitting sports stadiums, and endless air and road traffic, the place for quiet in our lives grows smaller by the day. In Pursuit of Silence gives context to our increasingly desperate sense that noise pollution is, in a very real way, an environmental catastrophe. Listening to doctors, neuroscientists, acoustical engineers, monks, activists, educators, marketers, and aggrieved citizens, George Prochnik examines why we began to be so loud as a society, and what it is that gets lost when we can no longer find quiet. He shows us the benefits of decluttering our sonic world. As Prochnik travels across the United States and overseas, we meet a rich host of characters: an idealistic architect who is pioneering a new kind of silent architecture in collaboration with the Deaf community at Gallaudet University; a special operations soldier in Afghanistan (and former guitarist with Nirvana) who places silence at the heart of survival in war; a sound designer for shopping malls who ensures that the stores we visit never stop their auditory seductions; and a group of commuters who successfully revolted against piped-in music in Grand Central Station. A brilliant, far-reaching exploration of the frontiers of noise and silence, and the growing war between them, In Pursuit of Silence is an important book that will appeal to fans of Michael Pollan and Daniel Gilbert. Book News Annotation:Yes, the world is getting noisier, and yes, silence is increasingly
hard to find, argues George Prochnik. In this inquiry into noise and
silence, the author examines how present-day life has gotten so loud
and what we all lose when we're unable to find quiet. Among the
people that reader will meet in this book are an architect who is
collaborating with the deaf community at Gallaudet University to
create a new kind of silent architecture; a soldier in Afghanistan
who places silence at the heart of survival in war; a sound designer
for shopping malls who ensures that stores never stop their auditory
assault on our senses, and a group of commuters who kept background
music out of Grand Central Station. Prochnik's well thought out case
for silence will appeal to anyone interested the health and
environmental effects of an ever more noisy world, or just in cutting
down on the stresses in their own life.
Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) About the AuthorGeorge Prochnik is the author of Putnam Camp: Sigmund Freud, James Jackson Putnam, and the Purpose of American Psychology, a New York Times "Editor's Choice" pick and winner of a 2007 Gradiva Award. He has written for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Playboy, and Cabinet magazine, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 1 comment: 
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Health and Self-Help » Psychology » General
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