Manifesto for Silence: Confronting the Politics and Culture of Noise - Hardcover

Interesting book ... which has made me think again about certain figures in the arts whose work I previously thought pretentious. -- Rachel Cooke Times Higher Education What a wonderful book! Sim's arresting treatment promises to wake people up to the importance of silence. -- Bob Brecher I was in wholehearted agreement with much of this book, and its anguished defense of silence as a prerequisite for thought, contemplation, creativity, and perhaps even the development of character and individuality ! [Stuart Sim] writes with admirable lucidity, often about matters of some subtlety. -- Anthony Daniels The New Criterion Sim's point is not that silence is always preferable to noise, but that space must be made for it in modern life. ... in the chatter of voices proclaiming this, that and the other, a call to just shut up for a moment is worth listening to. Financial Times Interesting book ... which has made me think again about certain figures in the arts whose work I previously thought pretentious. What a wonderful book! Sim's arresting treatment promises to wake people up to the importance of silence. I was in wholehearted agreement with much of this book, and its anguished defense of silence as a prerequisite for thought, contemplation, creativity, and perhaps even the development of character and individuality ! [Stuart Sim] writes with admirable lucidity, often about matters of some subtlety. Sim's point is not that silence is always preferable to noise, but that space must be made for it in modern life. ... in the chatter of voices proclaiming this, that and the other, a call to just shut up for a moment is worth listening to.

This book makes an urgent demand for silence. The ability to think, to reflect, and to create are all highly dependent on regular access to silence. Yet in today's noisy, 24/7 society silence and quiet are under threat. And the business world only makes this worse with cynical marketing strategies abusing the power of noise: ever-diminishing oases of calm are hard to find. Stuart Sim argues that we need more, not less, silence. He explains why silence matters, where it matters - in our environment, in religion, philosophy, the arts, literature and science - and why the human race will suffer if we do not make space for it. The confrontation between the politics of noise and the politics of silence affects all of us profoundly: we cannot stay neutral on this issue. Key Features: *From noisy neighbours to ASBOs and MTV via the forest and the local library: noise versus silence is one of the main cultural conflicts of our time. *Provides a new and provocative take on the marketing strategies of the business world. *Demonstrates why and where silence matters in our lives, and why we should protect it. *Written by a hugely experienced author, Manifesto for Silence is a pleasure to read.