Publisher's Synopsis
" 'Nothing' is the force That renovates the World." -EMILY DICKINSON "I love talking about nothing....It is the only thing I know anything about." -OSCAR WILDE "Nothingness lies coiled in the heart of being-like a worm." -JEAN-PAUL SARTRE "Who in this world has not felt the power of this: a nothing!"-VICTOR HUGO Whether a subject of dread or of fascination, nothing (often spelled with a capital "N") has intrigued writers, philosophers, and scientists since ancient times. In this sound-bite history of the concept of nothing, distinguished journalist Joan Konner-author of the bestselling The Atheist's Bible-has created a unique anthology devoted to, well, ... nothing. The collection brings together, in one portable volume, the thoughts of well-known writers and philosophers, artists and musicians, poets and playwrights, geniuses and jokers, demonstrating that some of the finest minds explored, feared, confronted, experienced, and played with the real or imagined presence of nothing in their lives. Paradoxical? Yes, indeed. You Don't Have to Be Buddhist to Know Nothing shows that, like many Eastern sages, deep thinkers in the West also recognized and pondered nonexistence as an essential component and complement of existence itself. Organized in short topical chapters from "Knowing Nothing" to the "Joy of Unknowing" and "Nothing is Sacred," the verbal snapshots captured in this collection create a coherent work of insight, wisdom, humor and wonder. You Don't Have to Be Buddhist to Know Nothing is compelling enough to be read all at once or in short bursts, as the spirit moves.
