Umberto Eco Popular Books
Umberto Eco Biography & Facts
Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory, as well as Foucault's Pendulum, his 1988 novel which touches on similar themes. Eco wrote prolifically throughout his life, with his output including children's books, translations from French and English, in addition to a twice-monthly newspaper column "La Bustina di Minerva" (Minerva's Matchbook) in the magazine L'Espresso beginning in 1985, with his last column (a critical appraisal of the Romantic paintings of Francesco Hayez) appearing 27 January 2016. At the time of his death, he was an Emeritus professor at the University of Bologna, where he taught for much of his life. In the 21st century, he has continued to gain recognition for his 1995 essay "Ur-Fascism", where Eco lists fourteen general properties he believes comprise fascist ideologies. Early life and education Eco was born on 5 January 1932 in the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont in northern Italy. The spread of Italian Fascism throughout the region influenced his childhood. At the age of ten, he received the First Provincial Award of Ludi Juveniles after responding positively to the young Italian fascist writing prompt of "Should we die for the glory of Mussolini and the immortal destiny of Italy?" His father, Giulio, one of thirteen children, was an accountant before the government called him to serve in three wars. During World War II, Umberto and his mother, Giovanna (Bisio), moved to a small village in the Piedmontese mountainside. His village was liberated in 1945, and he was exposed to American comic books, the European Resistance, and the Holocaust. Eco received a Salesian education and made references to the order and its founder in his works and interviews. Towards the end of his life, Eco came to believe that his family name was an acronym of ex caelis oblatus (from Latin: a gift from the heavens). As was the custom at the time, the name had been given to his grandfather (a foundling) by an official in city hall. In a 2011 interview, Eco explained that a friend happened to come across the acronym on a list of Jesuit acronyms in the Vatican Library, informing him of the likely origin of the name. Umberto's father urged him to become a lawyer, but he entered the University of Turin (UNITO), writing his thesis on the aesthetics of medieval philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas under the supervision of Luigi Pareyson, for which he earned his Laurea degree in philosophy in 1954. Career Medieval aesthetics and philosophy (1954–1968) After graduating, Eco worked for the state broadcasting station Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) in Milan, producing a variety of cultural programming. Following the publication of his first book in 1956, he became an assistant lecturer at his alma mater. In 1958, Eco left RAI and the University of Turin to complete 18 months of compulsory military service in the Italian Army. In 1959, following his return to university teaching, Eco was approached by Valentino Bompiani to edit a series on "Idee nuove" (New Ideas) for his eponymous publishing house in Milan. According to the publisher, he became aware of Eco through his short pamphlet of cartoons and verse Filosofi in libertà (Philosophers in Freedom, or Liberated Philosophers), which had originally been published in a limited print run of 550 under the James Joyce-inspired pseudonym Daedalus. That same year, Eco published his second book, Sviluppo dell'estetica medievale (The Development of Medieval Aesthetics), a scholarly monograph building on his work on Aquinas. Earning his libera docenza in aesthetics in 1961, Eco was promoted to the position of lecturer in the same subject in 1963, before leaving the University of Turin to take a position as lecturer in Architecture at the University of Milan in 1964. Early writings on semiotics and popular culture (1961–1964) Among his work for a general audience, in 1961 Eco's short essay "Phenomenology of Mike Bongiorno", a critical analysis of a popular but unrefined quiz show host, appeared as part of a series of articles by Eco on mass media published in the magazine of the tyre manufacturer Pirelli. In it, Eco, observed that "[Bongiorno] does not provoke inferiority complexes, despite presenting himself as an idol, and the public acknowledge him, by being grateful to him and loving him. He represents an ideal that nobody need strive to reach because everyone is already at his level." Receiving notoriety among the general public thanks to widespread media coverage, the essay was later included in the collection Diario minimo (1963). Over this period, Eco began seriously developing his ideas on the "open" text and on semiotics, writing many essays on these subjects. In 1962 he published Opera aperta (translated into English as "The Open Work"). In it, Eco argued that literary texts are fields of meaning, rather than strings of meaning; and that they are understood as open, internally dynamic and psychologically engaged fields. Literature which limits one's potential understanding to a single, unequivocal line, the closed text, remains the least rewarding, while texts which are the most active between mind, society and life (open texts) are the liveliest and best—although valuation terminology was not his primary focus. Eco came to these positions through the study of language and from semiotics, rather than from psychology or historical analysis (as did theorists such as Wolfgang Iser, on the one hand, and Hans Robert Jauss, on the other). In his 1964 book Apocalittici e integrati, Eco continued his exploration of popular culture, analyzing the phenomenon of mass communication from a sociological perspective. Visual communication and semiological guerrilla warfare (1965–1975) From 1965 to 1969, he was Professor of Visual Communications at the University of Florence, where he gave the influential lecture "Towards a Semiological Guerrilla Warfare", which coined the influential term "semiological guerrilla", and influenced the theorization of guerrilla tactics against mainstream mass media culture, such as guerrilla television and culture jamming. Among the expressions used in the essay are "communications guerrilla warfare" and "cultural guerrilla". The essay was later included in Eco's book Faith in Fakes. Eco's approach to semiotics is often referred to as "interpretative semiotics". In his first book-length elaboration, his theory appears in La struttura assente (1968; literally: The Absent Structure). In 1969 he left to become Professor of Semiotics at Milan Polytechnic, spending his first year as a visiting professor at New York University. In 1971 he took up a position as associate professor at the Unive.... Discover the Umberto Eco popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Umberto Eco books.
Best Seller Umberto Eco Books of 2024
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The History of the Knights Templars
Charles G. AddisonThe history of the Knights Templars is a remarkable story of triumphs and defeats, marked with controversies and tragedy. From their rise to their demise, Charles G. Addison ...
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The Life of King Henry V of England
Alfred John Church"The Life of Henry V " is biography of one of the greatest warrior kings of medieval England. It gives detail account of Henry's life from his childhood to the outstand...
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Rienzi, Last of the Roman Tribunes
Edward Bulwer-Lytton"Rienzi, Last of the Roman Tribunes" – BulwerLytton has created a true masterpiece that inspired none other than the great Wagner to create his opera titled "Rienzi....
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Envy
Judy CorbettWhat happens when your beloved only daughter's friend turns out to be a destructive cuckoo in the nest? When girlish charm turns to seduction and teenage friendship to manipulation...
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Il Medioevo
Umberto EcoSi pongono questioni non da poco nel ripercorrere le vicende del primo Medioevo, una lunga epoca di decadenza segnata in modo inequivocabile da un accentuato calo demografico. È l’...
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The Spire
William GoldingSuccumb to one churchman's apocalyptic vision in this prophetic tale by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, William Golding (recorded by Benedict Cumberbatc...
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The Shadow of the Wind
Carlos Ruiz Zafón & Lucia GravesThe New York Times bestseller“The Shadow of the Wind is ultimately a love letter to literature, intended for readers as passionate about storytelling as its young hero.” ...
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Umberto Eco
Michael CaesarThis book provides a comprehensive introduction to the work and thought of Umberto Eco one of the most important writers in Europe today.
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The Moon and the Bonfires
Cesare Pavese & Tim Parks'Insinuating, haunting and lyrically pervasive' The New York Times Book ReviewA new translation by Tim ParksTwenty years after making his fortune in America, Eel is drawn back to t...
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The History of the Middle Ages
Victor DuruyThe History of the Middle Ages covers the complete medieval epoch in Europe, both chronologically and geographically. The book starts with the decline of the Roman Empire and the ...
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The Complete Poems
William Blake & Alicia OstrikerOne of the great English Romantic poets, William Blake (17571827) was an artist, poet, mystic and visionary. His work ranges from the deceptively simple and lyrical Songs of Innoce...
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La divina Comedia
Dante AlighieriEste ebook presenta "La divina Comedia", con un índice dinámico y detallado. La divina Comedia es un poema épico escrito por Dante Alighieri. Se desconoce la fecha exacta e...
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Umberto Eco
Claudio PaolucciUmberto Eco ha raggiunto fama mondiale come romanziere, intellettuale pubblico, esperto di filosofia medievale, semiologo e studioso di letteratura, arte, storia. Ma, prima di tutt...
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The Woman in White
Wilkie Collins & Matthew SweetThe Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter is drawn into...
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Umberto Eco
Cheka AisyaItalian writer of international best seller “the name of the rose” ,
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The Collected Works of Jules Verne in English
Jules VerneThis carefully crafted ebook: "The Collected Works of Jules Verne in English" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Table of Conte...
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Das Schloss
Franz KafkaZu Beginn des Romanfragments trifft der Protagonist K. in einem winterlichen Dorf ein, das zur Herrschaft eines Schlosses gehört. Gefragt, ob er eine Erlaubnis zum Aufenthalt habe,...
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Confessions of an Italian
Ippolito Nievo & Frederika RandallAn overlooked classic of Italian literature, this epic and unforgettable novel recounts one man's long and turbulent life in revolutionary Italy.At the age of eightythree and neari...
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The Last Days of Pompeii
Edward Bulwer-LyttonPompeii, A.D. 79. Athenian nobleman Glaucus arrives in the bustling and gaudy Roman town and quickly falls in love with the beautiful Greek Ione. Ione's former guardian, the ma...
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The Fifth Gospel
Ian CaldwellThe instant New York Times bestseller from the author of the international sensation The Rule of Four combines a lost gospel, a contentious relic, and a dying pope’s final wish int...
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Umberto Eco.
Queen's QuarterlyELEANOR WACHTEL is the host of CBC Radio's Writers & Company and The Arts Today. This interview was initially prepared in collaboration with Mary Stinson and broadcast on Write...
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Le introduzioni di Umberto Eco Attraverso 6000 anni di cultura
Umberto EcoQuesto ebook raccoglie i testi che Eco ha scritto per introdurre i periodi della storia della civiltà europea. Lo sguardo di Umberto Eco spazia con profondità e semplicità su inter...
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El cementerio de Praga
Umberto Eco«La mejor novela de Umberto Eco desde El nombre de la rosa» (Babelia): «recupera el espíritu irreverente y provocador de la gran literatura» (El Cultural).«Más irónico que nunca y ...
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Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know
Colm TóibínFrom Colm Tóibín, the formidable awardwinning author of The Master and Brooklyn, an illuminating, intimate study of Irish culture, history, and literature told through the lives an...
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The Wolf and the Watchman
Niklas Natt och Dag“The Alienist set in eighteenthcentury Stockholm: Brawny, bloody, intricate, enthrallingand the best historical thriller I’ve read in twenty years.” A.J. Finn, #1 bestselling autho...
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Umberto Eco, The Da Vinci Code, and the Intellectual in the Age of Popular Culture
Douglass MerrellThis book provides a philosophical overview of Umberto Eco's historical and cultural development as a unique, internationally recognized public intellectual who communicates his id...
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The Life of St. Patrick
J. B. Bury"The Life of St. Patrick" is the first truly authoritative biography of Saint Patrick's life and a well researched study of the times in which he lived in. Saint Patric...
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How to Stop Fascism
Paul Mason'For its historical depth, analytical vigour and mobilizational potential, this book is unparalleled ... every page is an urgent invitation to resist' David Lammy MP The bestselli...
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Sin Eater
Megan Campisi“For fans of The Handmaid’s Tale...a debut novel with a dark setting and an unforgettable heroine...is a riveting depiction of hardwon female empowerment” (The Washington Post).The...
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The Art of War in the Middle Ages
Charles OmanThe Art of War has been very simply defined as 'the art which enables any commander to worst the forces opposed to him.' It is therefore conversant with an enormous variety...
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Laurus
Eugene VodolazkinWINNER OF THE BIG BOOK AWARD, THE LEO TOLSTOY YASNAYA POLYANA AWARD & THE READ RUSSIA AWARD'THE MOST IMPORTANT LIVING RUSSIAN WRITER' New YorkerA NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR...
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Agincourt
G. P. R. JamesAll was bustle and activity throughout Flanders and Burgundy after the return of John the Bold from Paris. Night and day messengers were crossing the country from one town to anoth...
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Cash and Curry
Chris Newens2017 WINNER OF THE BODLEY HEAD | FINANCIAL TIMES ESSAY PRIZEIn this quest across India during the recent cash crisis, Chris Newens follows in the footsteps of TV chef Rick Stein in...
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The Temple and the Lodge
Michael Baigent & Richard LeighCoauthors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh recount the events that led to the strange and sudden disappearance of the Knights Templar in the fourteenth c...
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The Life of St. Patrick and His Place in History
J. B. Bury"The Life of St. Patrick and His Place in History" is the first truly authoritative biography of Saint Patrick's life and a well researched study of the times in which ...