An edition of Drawing life (1997)

Drawing life

surviving the Unabomber

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Last edited by ImportBot
July 17, 2023 | History
An edition of Drawing life (1997)

Drawing life

surviving the Unabomber

  • 0 Ratings
  • 0 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 1 Have read

On June 24, 1993, David Gelernter opened a package that exploded, blowing off most of his right hand and damaging his hearing, eyesight, and chest. Ironically, the perpetrator, the technology-phobic "mad genius" we know as the Unabomber, managed to punish one of the very few people who are deeply skeptical about computers and openly critical of technology. Perhaps the greater irony is that the bomb meant to destroy a man's life remade it, and the wounds meant to break his spirit only strengthened it. Now, in this haunting memoir, Gelernter makes a metaphor of himself, seeing in his own near-death and recovery the same disfigurement and promise for American society as a whole. As he ponders his own spiritual condition and the healing power he found in family, religion, community, and art, he critiques the American soul and its devaluing of these very treasures. Instead of teaching and lauding the virtues of courage, critical thinking, and good judgment, Americans have made a media circus out of crime. We are so busy peeking pruriently into the twisted minds of madmen that we have forgotten the acts of violence are not significant because they tickle our bloodlust, but because they force us to rethink our priorities. In a power analysis of the media's response to his experience, for example, Gelernter points out that the Unabomber was described as a "genius, " as "sick, " as "fascinating, " but never as evil. Gelernter asks the chilling question: What does it mean when a culture no longer believes in evil? What happens to a society that has lost its ability to react morally in a crisis? After all, when a man is blown up by a bomb, we should question, not gawk; learn the deeper lessons, not bask in the lurid details. A gripping and poignant narrative as well as a thought-provoking analysis of our culture and where it's headed, Drawing Life is about the resurrection of an extremely thoughtful human being and the extraordinary power of one man's will to live.

Publish Date
Publisher
Free Press
Language
English
Pages
159

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Drawing life
Drawing life: surviving the Unabomber
1997, Free Press
in English

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Book Details


Published in

New York

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
364.15/23/092, B
Library of Congress
HV6432.G45 A3 1997, HV6432.G45A3 1997

The Physical Object

Pagination
viii, 159 p. ;
Number of pages
159

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL667462M
Internet Archive
drawinglifesurvi00gele
ISBN 10
0684839121
LCCN
97013190
OCLC/WorldCat
36696412
Library Thing
300769
Goodreads
1142710

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
July 17, 2023 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
November 25, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
July 25, 2019 Edited by SearchingForAnswers Description from Amazon
May 19, 2019 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from Scriblio MARC record.