A Very Brief History of Eternity
Search in google:
"As learned as it is lively, Carlos Eire's A Very Brief History of Eternity traces the elusive history of a very big idea. Eire teaches us to understand our ways of thinking about the future—as well as the present and our past—with new clarity and insight."—Anthony Grafton, Princeton University"A Very Brief History of Eternity is vintage Eire: erudite and witty, profound and written with a light touch. Eire compellingly narrates the ways in which complex beliefs about eternity are intertwined with the way life is lived in time. It is an invitation to reflect on how eternity, even when it is absent from view, can make, as he puts it, 'a hell of a difference.'"—Miroslav Volf, Yale University Divinity School"Carlos Eire doesn't disappoint. The breadth of detail, the depth of imagination, the ability to synthesize and to identify the telling example—and all for such an impossibly expansive topic as eternity—are astonishing. We get glimpses throughout of the creativity that graced his memoir of Cuba, and evidence everywhere of his massive learning."—Craig Harline, author of Sunday: A History of the First Day from Babylonia to the Super Bowl"Carlos Eire's A Very Brief History of Eternity is precisely what you would expect from a formidable historian who is also an acclaimed memoirist. Strikingly erudite and profound yet accessible, this book will appeal to anyone who takes pleasure in being enlightened and entertained at the same time."—Peter Iver Kaufman, University of Richmond Publishers Weekly Readers of Eire’s award-winning memoir, Waiting for Snow in Havana, won’t be surprised by the tongue-in-cheek title of the Yale history professor’s latest book. Despite its heady topic, Eire’s engaging style and sense of humor keep things light enough to carry readers through a history of “how conceptions of forever, or eternity, have evolved in Western culture, and what role these conceptions have played in shaping our own self-understanding, personally and collectively.” Beginning in the ancient cradle of civilization and ending with the postmodern present, the author addresses both religious and secular notions of eternity in the context of how people throughout time have treated such mysteries and conundrums as what happens after death and the relationship of time to space. Diagrams, photos and artistic representations accompanied by Eire’s commentary illustrate difficult concepts or provide visual representation of how people have conceived of eternity in reincarnation, mystical experience, heaven and enduring truth. Eire gives readers so much to think about and in such an entertaining manner that he can be excused for occasionally overreaching. (Nov.)
List of IllustrationsI Big Bang, Big Sleep, Big Problem 1II Eternity Conceived 28III Eternity Overflowing 67IV Eternity Reformed 100V From Eternity to Five-Year Plans 157VI Not Here, Not Now, Not Ever 220Appendix Common Conceptions of Eternity 229Notes 233Eternity: A Basic Bibliography 255Index 259
