Travels In Hyperreality

umberto eco william weaver

This is a collection of essays written in various times and contexts, in which Umberto Eco considers many topics: holography, wax museums, "The Return of the Middle Ages", Superman and Casablanca, Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni, the survival of ancient African religious sects and cults in contemporary Brazil, Jim Jones and his murderous temple, the Red Brigades and terrorism in general, Marchall McLuhan and Charles Manson, Woody Allen and St Thomas Aquinas, the social and personal implications of snug-fitting blue jeans and the secret meaning of spectator sports...

Genres nonfictionphilosophyessaysitalian literatureculturaltheoryhistorysociologyitalyliterature

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1967

This edition

Format: 324 pages, Paperback
Published: May 27, 1990 by HarperVia
ISBN: 9780156913218
ASIN: 0156913216
Language: English

About the author

umberto eco

Umberto Eco was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory, as well as Foucault's Pendulum, his 1988 novel which touches on similar themes.
Eco wrote prolifically throughout his life, with his output including children's books, translations from French and English, in addition to a twice-monthly newspaper column "La Bustina di Minerva" (Minerva's Matchbook) in the magazine L'Espresso beginning in 1985, with his last column (a critical appraisal of the Romantic paintings of Francesco Hayez) appearing 27 January 2016. At the time of his death, he was an Emeritus professor at the University of Bologna, where he taught for much of his life. In the 21st century, he has continued to gain recognition for his 1995 essay "Ur-Fascism", where Eco lists fourteen general properties he believes comprise fascist ideologies.