Works of art disappear, species are extinguished, books are lost, cities drown, things once thought immortal suddenly aren’t there at all. Whole libraries of knowledge, and whole galleries of secrets are gone. Our culture, our knowledge, and all our lives are shadows cast by what went before. We are defined, not by what we have, but by what we have lost along the way. Lost Worlds is a glossary of the missing, a cabinet of absent curiosities. No mere miscellany, it weaves a web of everything we no longer have. Michael Bywater, "Lost Worlds" columnist for the Independent on Sunday, teaches at Cambridge University.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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"A gorgeously written, barking-mad catalog raisonne of, well, all kinds of stuff that we've lost" -- The Tatler
From the Publisher
They vanish. People. Civilizations. Languages. Philosophies. Works of art disappear, species are extinguished, books are lost, cities drown, things once thought immortal suddenly aren't there at all. Whole libraries of knowledge, whole galleries of secrets. Gone. Our culture, our knowledge, and all our lives are shadows cast by what went before. We are defined, not by what we have, but by what we have lost along the way. And so, Lost Worlds: a glossary of the missing, a cabinet of absent curiosities. No mere miscellany, it weaves a web of everything we no longer have. Lost Worlds: the book that falls open at every page.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Of course, he's angry,
By
This review is from: Lost Worlds: What Have We Lost, & Where Did it Go? (Paperback)
This is a great book by a very angry man. The world has turned horrible as we have watched, and Bywater tells us some, only some, of the ways in which this horror has been foisted on us. Many of the essays are very funny ..... and then not so funny. He has seen the absurdity of life and has now told us about it. Anyone who is satisfied with the modern world and does not feel that much has been lost will hate this book. Anyone without a sense of humor will hate this book. Anyone incapable of feeling outrage at what "they" (and we all know who they are!) have done to us will hate this book. Anyone lacking a soul will hate this book. Anyone who thinks that the government/the corportions/the people across the street have our best interests at heart will hate this book. Anyone who thinks he will live forever will hate this book. I love it.
At first and to a shallow mind the essays seem random and unfocused, but gradually the theme emerges: we've been had.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected.,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Lost Worlds: What Have We Lost, & Where Did it Go? (Paperback)
From the review from publisher I had expected any number of things. What I got was essentially a comedy novel along the lines of the Devil's Dictionary. With entries like: Absurdity, Gloves, and Patchouli(which I disagree with I think the author just needs to go find a hippie and he'll find his patchouli). While it's good for what it is I was hoping for something a little more serious.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An inherently fascinating, informative, thoughtful, thought-provoking , and highly recommended read!,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lost Worlds: What Have We Lost, & Where Did it Go? (Paperback)
People, civilizations, and even works of art and cities vanish, leaving human culture to be defined as much by their absence as their presence. LOST WORLDS: WHAT HAVE WE LOST, AND WHERE DID IT GO charts these missing curiosities of the past, using extensive quotes from source materials in its catalog of loss. From lost ideas and languages to icons of civilization, LOST WORLDS takes a journey through history to examine the impact of the past. An inherently fascinating, informative, thoughtful, thought-provoking , and highly recommended read!
Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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good fug, favourite armchair, proper doctor, damnatio memoriae Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Prester John, Park Drive, Tsar Bomba, Mister Golly, Aunt Joan, Joan the Wad, The Shops, Golden Age, Lost Chord, Daily Mail, Higgs's Boson, United States, Little Room, Second World War, Watney's Party Seven, Dead Letter Office, World Wide Web, Mickey Mouse, Master Roller, Boyards Maïs, Pouch of Douglas, London Particular, Martha Jane, Lucky Water, Rampant Rabbit Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
good fug, favourite armchair, proper doctor, damnatio memoriae Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Prester John, Park Drive, Tsar Bomba, Mister Golly, Aunt Joan, Joan the Wad, The Shops, Golden Age, Lost Chord, Daily Mail, Higgs's Boson, United States, Little Room, Second World War, Watney's Party Seven, Dead Letter Office, World Wide Web, Mickey Mouse, Master Roller, Boyards Maïs, Pouch of Douglas, London Particular, Martha Jane, Lucky Water, Rampant Rabbit Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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