Silence

Praise

“As much an object as book, something to be handled and savored…. I too remember crunching over ice at the South Pole—though I had not walked there like the author—and thinking about the ethereal quality of silence that the owned world cannot give (no country owns the Antarctic). Erling Kagge captures that wonder on the page.” —Wall Street Journal
 
“A series of lyrical vignettes. . . . Kagge is clearly qualified to write about the soul-reviving benefits of quiet.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

“Kagge . . . writes in a chatty, accessible style and with a healthy dose of humor. . . . Silence . . . offers thoughtful meditations.” —The Minneapolis Star Tribune
 
“An extraordinarily calming book . . . just the tonic when things get hectic.” —The Irish Times
 
“A simply extraordinary book anyone with a smart-phone or a social media account would do well to read—and heed.” —Trail Magazine
 
“A joyful celebration of what feels like a precious resource that is . . . in too short supply.” —On Air, NPR

“The book both contemplates the various forms of silence around and within us, and offers solutions for finding such silence amidst endless interruptions and opportunities for distraction….With a sense of awe, Kagge wanders rather than narrates, moving intuitively between philosophy, science, and personal experience….It’s always good to be reminded of ancient truths. And with Silence, Kagge provides a much-needed reminder.” —Los Angeles Review of Books
 
“An eloquent and persuasive argument for the significance of silence, in all of its forms, from an author who has explored the limits of the human experience.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Searing and soaring….For Kagge, silence is more than the absence of sound: it is the incubator for thought, the conscious eradication of external distraction, and the ability to live in one’s own mind as fully as one lives in the physical world. Infused with powerfully evocative art and photographs that enhance his salient concepts, Kagge’s treatise on this endangered commodity provides an intriguing meditation for mindful readers.” —Booklist

“The book expands the concepts of silence and noise beyond their aural definitions and engages with modern culture’s information overload, need for constant connection, and cult of busyness….Great pleasure lies in Kagge’s creative investigations. The reader leaves more mindful of the swirl of distraction present in everyday life.”  —Publishers Weekly