Book details

1. Print length 176 pages
2. Language English
3. Publisher Harper Perennial
4. Publication date October 15, 2013
5. Dimensions 5.31 x 0.4 x 8 inches
6. ISBN-10 0060915412
7. ISBN-13 978-0060915414
8. See all details

Description

Product Description

Here, in this compelling assembly of writings, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard explores the world of natural facts and human meanings.

Review

"A collection of meditations like polished stones--painstakingly worded, tough-minded, yet partial to mystery, and peerless when it comes to injecting larger resonances into the natural world.""--Kirkus Reviews"""Teaching a Stone to Talk" is superb. As with the flying fish, Annie Dillard doesn''t do it often, but when she does she silver-streaks out of the blue and archingly transcends all other writers of our day in all the simple, intimate, and beautiful ways of the natural master." -- R. Buckminster Fuller"The natural world is ignited by her prose and we see the world as an incandescent metaphor of the spirit...Few writers evoke better than she the emotion of awe, and few have ever conveyed more graphically the weight of silence, the force of the immaterial."-- Robert Taylor, "Boston Globe""This little book is haloed and informed throughout by Dillard''s distinctive passion and intensity, a sort of intellectual radiance that reminds me both Thoreau and Emily Dickinson."-- Edward Abbey, "Chicago Sun-Times"

From the Back Cover

Here, in this compelling assembly of writings, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard explores the world of natural facts and human meanings.

About the Author

Annie Dillard has written twelve books,including in nonfiction For the Time Being, Teaching a Stone to Talk, Holy the Firm, and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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Top reviews from the United States

Greg5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase A Beautiful Excursion Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2021 Annie Dillard''s creative mastery of the English language is a thing of beauty. Emily Dickinson said, "There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away.” When I read Dillard, I see her world through her eyes. "Nature’s silence is its one remark, and every... See more Annie Dillard''s creative mastery of the English language is a thing of beauty. Emily Dickinson said, "There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away.” When I read Dillard, I see her world through her eyes.

"Nature’s silence is its one remark, and every flake of world is a chip off that old mute and immutable block. The Chinese say that we live in the world of the ten thousand things. Each of the ten thousand things cries out to us precisely nothing." ~ Annie Dillard

"The silence is all there is. It is the alpha and the omega. It is God’s brooding over the face of the waters; it is the blended note of the ten thousand things, the whine of wings. You take a step in the right direction to pray to this silence, and even to address the prayer to ''World.'' Distinctions blur. Quit your tents. Pray without ceasing." ~ Annie Dillard 4 people found this helpful Helpful Report Jonna S.5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase WRITER''S WRITER Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2017 For any Dillard lover...you must own this. i have my favorites..Pilgrim at Tinker Creek...but these articles are marvelous demonstrations of why many people believe she is one of the greatest Writer''s Writer. Her piece on the 1979 total solar eclipse is mesmerizing...... 19 people found this helpful Helpful Report Jay McLaughlin5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase I''ve loved everything I''ve read by Annie Dillard Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2017 And I''ve read a lot. As always, I love her voice and her similes and her intertwining of science & philosophy. And history. I''d recommend Annie Dillard to anyone who enjoys an intelligent, creative, unanticipated voice. I chose this rating because I''m excited yet... See more And I''ve read a lot. As always, I love her voice and her similes and her intertwining of science & philosophy. And history.
I''d recommend Annie Dillard to anyone who enjoys an intelligent, creative, unanticipated voice.
I chose this rating because I''m excited yet again about Ms. Dillard''s work, and hoping I can find another new title. 19 people found this helpful Helpful Report R L Phares5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase ANNIE DILLARD WILL LIFT THE READER AND INSPIRE THE WRITER ~ Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2016 On any page...in any context...from any paragraph.... or sentence...I am given what the joy of reading is . . .I am reminded what truly gifted writing is about. Annie Dillard takes me to the Divine every time. Magnificent. If you are not familiar with this... See more On any page...in any context...from any paragraph.... or sentence...I am given what the joy
of reading is . . .I am reminded what truly gifted writing is about.
Annie Dillard takes me to the Divine every time. Magnificent.
If you are not familiar with this author, give your spirit a cool dip in the spring of clarity . . . your
mind the definition of what talented, sensitive writing is able to do for your soul.
Another wonderful collection by a brilliant author.
Anything written by Annie Dillard will lift the reader and inspire the writer.~ 16 people found this helpful Helpful Report Darkling Thrush5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase "God used to rage at the Israelites for frequenting sacred groves. I wish I could find one.” Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2021

"The silence is all there is. It is the alpha and the omega, it is God''s brooding over the face of the waters; it is the blinded note of the ten thousand things, the whine of wings. You take a step in the right direction to pray to this silence, and even to address the... See more "The silence is all there is. It is the alpha and the omega, it is God''s brooding over the face of the waters; it is the blinded note of the ten thousand things, the whine of wings. You take a step in the right direction to pray to this silence, and even to address the prayer to "World." Distinctions blur. Quit your tents. Pray without ceasing.” Helpful Report Oddsfish5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase Seeing Life With Her Eyes Open Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2003 A couple of months ago, I happened upon the wholly enchanting For the Time Being by Annie Dillard. Following up on that, I just read this Teaching a Stone to Talk, and I will certainly be continuing to explore the work of this amazing author. Teaching a Stone to Talk... See more A couple of months ago, I happened upon the wholly enchanting For the Time Being by Annie Dillard. Following up on that, I just read this Teaching a Stone to Talk, and I will certainly be continuing to explore the work of this amazing author.
Teaching a Stone to Talk is a collection of essays that contains some true masterpieces. My personal favorite is the first, "Living Like Weasels," in which Dillard encourages us, and points for us the way, to remember how to live. Others are almost equal. "An Expedition to the Pole" cleverly and poignantly compares the journeys of arctic and antarctic explorers with the goings on in a tiny church congregation searching for God. In "God in the Doorway," Dillard expounds on an encounter with a woman and uses it to illuminate on the nature of God''s love.
Teaching a Stone to Talk is a truly amazing work. Whether she is writing about nature, an eclipse, or about a conversation with a small boy, Dillard manages to mesmerize the reader with her words and humor, and she blows the reader away with her wisdom and insight. 21 people found this helpful Helpful Report Z Dawit5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase Unexpected gem Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2021 This was such a treat, from beginning to end, language at its best. Only sorry I am just now coming across her works. Highly recommend. Helpful Report Lois A. Peterson5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase Annie Dillard - an inspirational writer of nature and biology! Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2021 I have loved Annie Dillard''s writing since reading "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" back in the 1970s. Her writing inspired me to write my own introductions to 16 Minicourses that I wrote to guide my students as they studied AP Biology - first at El Cerrito HS in California. Helpful Report

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Top reviews from other countries

A.V.4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase beautifully poetic descriptions Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2020 Quirky, joyous, profound. These moments and observations of life at first seem random but, like a cleverly orchestrated composition, somehow fit beautifully together as they rise and fall like breath. Report Jacki D.5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase Five Stars Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2016 A+ One person found this helpful Report Sandy Atkins5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase Five Stars Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2016 Very good innit , One person found this helpful Report Mara5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase Really good Reviewed in Germany on August 26, 2016 This book is a joy to read and discover. Liked every page of it, not a wasted word anywhere. I recommend this to writers because it teaches you about looking at life, how to plan ahead in a chapter, and use words cunningly. Report Murray5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase Five Stars Reviewed in Canada on June 24, 2015 A great writer and I went out and purchase several of her previous books. Report

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