The Labyrinth in Culture and Society: Pathways to Wisdom (Paperback)

by Jaques Attali (Author), Rev. Lauren Artress (Foreword) "This section provides a succinct history of labyrinths, from their first appearances to their demise and current resurrection..." (more)
Key Phrases: Grace Cathedral, Greg Bright, Saint Omer

Editorial Reviews

Review
"By turns unsettling and exhilarating, Attali is always scintillating, always crackling with creative intelligence. He hast hings to teach us all. Especially Americans."
—Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock

"Jackques Attali is a unique figure: an intellectual in the world of politics, and individualist in the world of high finance, a visionary and a dreamer."
—Walter Russell Mead, author of Moral Splendor: The American Empire in Transition

Product Description
An attempt to understand coded messages and modern interactive thinking, including the Internet, through the symbol of the labyrinth. In this cultural history, Attali shows that nonlinear searching has always been a part of cultures and may well become more important in the future. Color photos & illustrations.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books; illustrated edition edition (March 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556432658
• ISBN-13: 978-1556432651
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #715,473 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, August 1, 1999

By A Customer

I was pleased to discover this book was an easy read. Though it posits some complex interpretations of the labyrinth, Attali's ideas come alive in his strong, lucid prose. The book is chock full of physical and symbolic labyrinths of the past and present. I especially liked his references to nomadic cultures. An enjoyable book.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable introduction to the labyrinth mysteries and powers., July 18, 1998

By	Delphine Levy ([e-mail]) (New York) - See all my reviews

This book is probably the best way to start with the study of the multiple significations and applications of this ancient labyrinth science. Full of very good references, and stangely enlightened insights. Two flaws however: often stays at the surface of an idea, sometimes gets a little carried away. That's why it's more of an introduction than a true reference book. My advice: read this book and then go to Grace Cathedral in San Fransisco walk the labyrinth.

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical and Cross-Cultural Investigation of the Labyrinth, April 5, 2009

By	BYF "Backyard Flix" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

From Preface:

"Labyrinths are ancient patterns that galvanize the human psyche toward unity and wholeness....

Vast change is shaking the roots of Western Civilization...Westerners are confronted with sharp learning curves especially within the technological revolution...As in any process of change...We must relinquish our linear thinking and single-task focus as we shift our vision to embrace nonlinear processes, multi-tasking, and networking modes of thinking.

This is where Jacques Attali makes a major contribution. He senses how Western culture needs to reinvent itself in order to further the heart and soul of humanity.

Labyrinths serve as 'symbols, the basis of myth and as subliminal communications,'....and out of this comes a network of connections -- people to people, person to institution, institution to institution and institution to society...

Attali offers a historical analysis of how we elected, over the centuries, to rid ourselves of the indirect path for the supposed superiority of the straight line."


****



CONTENTS:

* Preface by the Reverend Dr. Lauren Artress

INTRODUCTION:
* Four Stories as a Beginning
(Doom; Chartres; Australia; Crete)
* Labyrinths are Everywhere
(A Coded Message * Thinking the Labyrinth * Daedalus and His Meanderings * This Book is a Labyrinth)


APPROACH
* Birth
(First Spirals, First Labyrinths * The Seventh Wonder of Egypt * The Cretan Maze * Tombs and Mandalas * The Christian World)

* Living
(Every Drawing Has a Meaning * Recounting a Voyage * First Paradises, First Hells * The Secret of the Cretans * Eternities by the Thousands * Sinai Is a Labyrinth * Pilgrimages and Processions * alchemy and the Kabbalah)

* Dying
(Doing Away with Meanders * Walking Straight * The Labyrinth Becomes Evil * Erasing Mazes * Garden Mazes * Amusement Parks and Social Games)


ACCESS

* Discovering
(The Ancients Knew * The Truth Becomes Straight * The Living Remains Convoluted * Even the Genes)

* Exchanging
(The First Markets * Transparency and Profit * The Return of the Nomadic Economy * The Overclass)

* Dominating
(The First Powers * The 12 Kings of Egypt * War as Labyrinth * The Power of the Law * Where Political Power Will Be Hidden)

* Residing
(The First Cities * Addresses and Maps * From Haussmann to Le Corbusier * Cities of the Future)

* Communicating
(The First Writing * Straight Talk * Irrigation Canals * Internet Labyrinths)

* Learning

* Amusing
(The First Narratives * Forthright Amusement * Novels and Tales * Amusement's Virtual Voyages)

* Knowing Oneself
(The Fool and the Sage * Femininity as Meandering * A Sexual Quest * Dreams and Fantasies)


TRAVERSING

* Advice for the Traveler
* Nomadism
* Facing Up
* Losing Oneself
* Accepting Oneself
* Persevering
(In Praise of Disappointment * Time Is Part of Space)
* Remembering
(Memory or Death * Learning by Heart * The Future of Memory)
* Dancing
(Theseus Invented the Dance * Processions and Corridas * Distinguishing the Body)
* Playing
(The First Games * Hopscotch and the Game of Goose * Sports: from Speed to Labyrinth * Playing in a Maze)
* Tricking
(How to Find the Way * Cunning * From Sailor to Diplomat * Intelligent Spying)
* Unraveling
(Tying Knots * Talismans * Textile and Text)
* Elucidating
(Getting Out of a Design * Passing Through Corridors)


LABYRINTHING

* Healing
(The First Sorcerers * Veriditas * Videotherapy)
* Labyrinthing
(How to Create a Labyrinth * Art and the Mask)