How to Live
A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer
by Sarah Bakewell
- 5 Want to read
- 1 Currently reading
How does one live? How does one do the good or honorable thing, while flourishing and feeling happy? This question obsessed Renaissance writers, none more than Montaigne, perhaps the first truly modern individual. A nobleman, public official and wine-grower, he wrote free-roaming explorations of his thought and experience, unlike anything written before. He called them "essays," meaning "attempts" or "tries." Into them, he put whatever was in his head: his tastes in wine and food, his childhood memories, the way his dog's ears twitched when it was dreaming, as well as the appalling events of the religious civil wars raging around him. The Essays was an instant bestseller and, over four hundred years later, Montaigne's honesty and charm still draw readers. This spirited biography relates the story of his life by way of the questions he posed and the answers he explored.--From publisher description.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Subjects
People
Places
Times
| Edition | Availability |
|---|---|
1
How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer
2010, Other Press
Hardcover
in English
1590514254 9781590514252
|
aaaa
|
Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Classifications
The Physical Object
Edition Identifiers
Work Identifiers
Source records
Work Description
How to get along with people, how to deal with violence, how to adjust to losing someone you love -- such questions arise in most people's lives. They are all versions of a bigger question: How do you live? This question obsessed Renaissance writers, none more than Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, considered by many to be the first truly modern individual. He wrote free-roaming explorations of his thoughts and experience, unlike anything written before. More than four hundred years later, Montaigne's honesty and charm still draw people to him. Readers come to him in search of companionship, wisdom, and entertainment -- and in search of themselves. Just as they will to this spirited and singular biography. - Publisher.
Community Reviews (0)
Lists
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?