If readers of the 20th century feel overwhelmed by the proliferation of writing and information, they can find in Samuel Johnson a sympathetic companion. Johnson's career coincided with the rapid expansion of publishing in England - not only in English, but in Latin and Greek; not only in books, but in reviews, journals, broadsides, pamphlets and books about books. In 1753 Johnson imagined a time when writers will, perhaps, be multiplied, till no readers will be found . Three years later, he wrote that England had become a nation of authors in which every man must be content to read his book to himself . In Samuel Johnson and the Life of Reading , Robert DeMaria considers the surprising influence of one of the greatest readers in English literature. Johnson's relationship to books not only reveals much about his life and times, DeMaria contends, but also provides a dramatic counterpoint to modern reading habits. As a superior practitioner of the craft, Johnson provides a compelling model for how to read - indeed, he provides different models for different kinds of reading. DeMaria shows how Johnson recognized early that not all reading was alike - some requiring intense concentration, some suited for cursory glances, some requiring silence, some best appreciated amid the chatter of a coffeehouse. Considering the remarkable range of Johnson's reading, DeMaria discovers in one extraordinary career a synoptic view of the subject of reading.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN-13
9780801854798
eBay Product ID (ePID)
95166263
Product Key Features
Book Title
Samuel Johnson and the Life of Reading
Author
Robert Demaria
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Topic
Literature
Publication Year
1997
Number of Pages
256 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
229mm
Item Width
152mm
Item Weight
480g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Robert Demaria
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
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