In this astonishing and transformative meditation, Erling Kagge, famed Norwegian explorer and the first person to reach the South Pole alone, explores the silence around us, the silence within us, and the silence we must create. By recounting his own experiences and discussing the observations of poets, artists, and explorers, Kagge shows us what silence is, where it can be found, and why it is now more important than ever.
"A series of lyrical vignettes. . . . Kagge is clearly qualified to write about the soul-reviving benefits of quiet." --O, The Oprah Magazine
"Kagge . . . writes in a chatty, accessible style and with a healthy dose of humor. . . . Silence . . . offers thoughtful meditations." --The Minneapolis Star Tribune
"An extraordinarily calming book . . . just the tonic when things get hectic." --The Irish Times
"A simply extraordinary book anyone with a smart-phone or a social media account would do well to read--and heed." --Trail Magazine
"A joyful celebration of what feels like a precious resource that is . . . in too short supply." --On Air, NPR
"The book both contemplates the various forms of silence around and within us, and offers solutions for finding such silence amidst endless interruptions and opportunities for distraction....With a sense of awe, Kagge wanders rather than narrates, moving intuitively between philosophy, science, and personal experience....It's always good to be reminded of ancient truths. And with Silence, Kagge provides a much-needed reminder." --Los Angeles Review of Books
"An eloquent and persuasive argument for the significance of silence, in all of its forms, from an author who has explored the limits of the human experience." --Kirkus Reviews
"Searing and soaring....For Kagge, silence is more than the absence of sound: it is the incubator for thought, the conscious eradication of external distraction, and the ability to live in one's own mind as fully as one lives in the physical world. Infused with powerfully evocative art and photographs that enhance his salient concepts, Kagge's treatise on this endangered commodity provides an intriguing meditation for mindful readers." --Booklist
"The book expands the concepts of silence and noise beyond their aural definitions and engages with modern culture's information overload, need for constant connection, and cult of busyness....Great pleasure lies in Kagge's creative investigations. The reader leaves more mindful of the swirl of distraction present in everyday life." --Publishers Weekly