Acquainted with the Night: Excursions Through the World After Dark
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Book Overview
In twelve chapters corresponding to the twelve hours of night, Christopher Dewdney illuminates night's central themes, including sunsets, nocturnal animals, bedtime stories, festivals of the night,... This description may be from another edition of this product.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1582345996
ISBN13:9781582345994
Release Date:June 2005
Publisher:Bloomsbury USA
Length:288 Pages
Weight:2.10 lbs.
Dimensions:0.8" x 5.6" x 8.3"
Related Subjects
Criticism & Theory Education & Reference Essays & Commentary History & Criticism Humor Humor & Entertainment Literary Criticism Literary Criticism & Collections Literature & Fiction Mythology Mythology & Folk Tales Politics & Social Sciences Science & Math Social Science Social Sciences World LiteratureCustomer Reviews
4 ratings
The Ultimate Night Book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
An absolutely delightful book for those of us whose favorite time of day begins when the sun sets. Christopher does an excellent job of blending the world of science, culture, anthropology, history, astronomy and more to give the reader the most comprehensive book about night. It's very relaxing and gives the reader an excellent visual. The writer also blends some humor and personal experience. Very well done. Highly recommended for those who love night. The book will take you there.
Off we go, into the poetic dark...
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
Wonderfully intriguing -- an invitation to take a journey through the 12 hours of darkness, with a trustworthy and wise guide. This book is like a curiosity cabinet -- full of delightful items you've probably never considered before, some of which go bump, and some of which entrance: sleep, murder, dreams, bats, goddesses, astronomy, a wide variety of nocturnal creatures, meditations on philosophy, science and literature -- all explored with a poet's sensibility. Dewdney's interests in things of the night is so far ranging that I suspect not every single thing in the book with interest every single reader, and but where else could you discover that we are most sensitive to dust at 11 p.m. or, discover that the Panzer divisions invading Poland were on methamphetamine, or hear a comet described thusly: "there is something fascinating yet unearthly and menacing about a comet, as if it were a cold, phosphorescent angel of calamity - it hangs in the sky like a beautiful jinx." Lovely. Now, grab your lantern and a pair of stout boots, it's time for a little nocturnal wandering...
Magic Journey from Dusk to Dawn
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
This highly unusual examination of the phases of night will ensure that never again will you be oblivious of them. The author begins with the three stages of twilight---civil twilight, nautical twilight, and astronomical twilight, and ends with first light, the beginning of dawn. In between he takes you through all the phases humans have assigned to the hours: dinner hour, children's bedtime, fireworks festivals, ghost- walking hours. Then there are the natural ones, such as the hour the nocturnal animals come out, stages of sleep, the best times for astronomical observations. He does this in a poetic and engaging way, for this is no dry recitation of facts. Each hour has its own delights, and he exults in celebrating them and saluting them. My only caveat is that his 'hours' are based on a northern European/American rhythm of the day. For them, "It is 11 pm and a great many people are asleep"---but in Spain they are just sitting down to dinner! It helps to remember the great variety of human behaviors in just about everything. Read this book and fall in love with night!
Gorgeous writing; inelligent and full of poetry.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
As a night owl and poetry-lover, I was intrigued by the title alone. Dewdney's writing is gorgeous: at turns it's funny, poignant, and illuminating. It's easy to tell the writer is a poet. At the same time, it's full of fascinating trivia and pieces of knowledge, covering history, physics, literature, astronomy, psychology, and philosophy.
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