Umberto Eco (1932–2016) wrote 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, The Prague Cemetery and Numero Zero along with many brilliant collections of essays.

"In the age of innumerable populist polymaths, Eco is the exception, a commentator who makes sense of what so often seems senseless. All the more reason to read him" Time Out "That he can write with equal agility on such subjects as the World Cup, St Thomas Aquinas, and how the wearing of tight blue jeans constricts the interior life as well as the body...in a a style that is both serious and diverting, is an achievement unparalleled in British journalism" New Statesman "There is enough liveliness here, and enough imaginative suggestiveness, to keep the reader furiously entertained" Sunday Times "A scintillating collection of writings by one of the most influential thinkers of our time" Los Angeles Times "Eco is...a highly entertaining and perceptive "decoder" of the world" Times Literary Supplement

Umberto Eco (1932–2016) wrote 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, The Prague Cemetery and Numero Zero along with many brilliant collections of essays.

"In the age of innumerable populist polymaths, Eco is the exception, a commentator who makes sense of what so often seems senseless. All the more reason to read him" Time Out "That he can write with equal agility on such subjects as the World Cup, St Thomas Aquinas, and how the wearing of tight blue jeans constricts the interior life as well as the body...in a a style that is both serious and diverting, is an achievement unparalleled in British journalism" New Statesman "There is enough liveliness here, and enough imaginative suggestiveness, to keep the reader furiously entertained" Sunday Times "A scintillating collection of writings by one of the most influential thinkers of our time" Los Angeles Times "Eco is...a highly entertaining and perceptive "decoder" of the world" Times Literary Supplement

Umberto Eco (1932–2016) wrote 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, The Prague Cemetery and Numero Zero along with many brilliant collections of essays.

"In the age of innumerable populist polymaths, Eco is the exception, a commentator who makes sense of what so often seems senseless. All the more reason to read him" Time Out "That he can write with equal agility on such subjects as the World Cup, St Thomas Aquinas, and how the wearing of tight blue jeans constricts the interior life as well as the body...in a a style that is both serious and diverting, is an achievement unparalleled in British journalism" New Statesman "There is enough liveliness here, and enough imaginative suggestiveness, to keep the reader furiously entertained" Sunday Times "A scintillating collection of writings by one of the most influential thinkers of our time" Los Angeles Times "Eco is...a highly entertaining and perceptive "decoder" of the world" Times Literary Supplement