Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening - Hardcover

David Hendy

3.66

338 ratings by Goodreads

9781781250891: Noise: A Human History of Sound and Listening

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1781250898 ISBN 13: 9781781250891

Publisher: Profile Books, 2013

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

In prehistoric caves, drummers used natural acoustics to recreate natural sound. In classical Europe, orators turned the human voice into a lyrical instrument. In Buddhist temples, the icons' ears were exaggerated to represent their spiritual power. And in modern metropolises we are battered by the roar of sound that surrounds us.

In the first narrative history of the subject which puts humans at its centre, and coinciding with the author's major Radio 4 series on the same subject, acclaimed historian David Hendy describes the history of noise - which is also the history of listening. As he puts it himself: 'By thinking about sound and listening, I want to get closer to what it felt like to live in the past or be caught up in the major events of history. The book is a chance for readers to discover more of the personal and social background to those stories featured in the radio series.'

This unusual book reveals fascinating changes in how we have understood our fellow human humans and the world around us. For although we might see ourselves inhabiting a visual world, our lives are shaped by our need to hear and be heard.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

As social history it's hard to beat (Independent 2013-08-01)

David Hendy reconstructs the acoustic environments of our ancestors and contemporaries in words, conjuring them to life for the mind's ear. Brilliant and thought-provoking - curl up somewhere noisy and enjoy! (Nigel Warburton)

Fascinating. Noise is something to shout about (Emily Cockayne Hubbub)

Praise for the radio series: 'A strange and lovely series ... Hendy found the roots of human language in the sounds and rhythms of bodies, our heartbeats, breathing, walking' (Gillian Reynolds Daily Telegraph)

Highly enjoyable and thought-provoking ... Hendy does a great job of reconstructing a whole range of long-gone sound worlds - and, importantly, he makes clear what is assumption, what is fact and what is guesswork, while still presenting his descriptions in an evocative way. (Mike Goldsmith Irish Times 2013-08-01)

Book Description:

Based on a major BBC Radio 4 series, David Hendy explores the role of sound - and of listening - in 100,000 years of human history.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.