By one of the world’s foremost intellectuals, George Steiner’s My Unwritten Books meditates upon seven books he had long had in mind to write, but never did. Massively erudite, the essays are also brave, unflinching, and wholly personal. In this fiercely original and audacious work, George Steiner tells of seven books which he did not write. Because intimacies and indiscretions were too threatening. Because the topic brought too much pain. Because its emotional or intellectual challenge proved beyond his capacities. The actual themes range widely and defy conventional taboos: the torment of the gifted when they live among―when they confront―the very great; the experience of sex in different languages; a love for animals greater than for human beings; the costly privilege of exile; a theology of emptiness. Yet a unifying perception underlies this diversity. The best we have or can produce is only the tip of the iceberg. Behind every good book, as in a lit shadow, lies the book which remained unwritten, the one that would have failed better. Audacious and original...Steiner discusses, in seven brave, unflinching, and personal essays, books that he "had hoped to write." ( SirReadaLot.org ) REVIEW: Steiner at his most complex: irascible and passionate, erudite and self-absorbed, determined to engage the most difficult cultural problems. ( The New York Times Book Review , Ben Marcus) REVIEW: This spicily honest little book exposes more of the man than ever before. ( Guardian , Blake Morrison) REVIEW: By the time you finish this book, it is obvious that Steiner remains a beacon of humane rationalism. ( Metrotimes , Brian Sholis) REVIEW: George Steiner's splendid My Unwritten Books suggests we need a pro-life movement in the publishing world—now. ( The Philadelphia Inquirer , Carlin Romano) REVIEW: A tongue-in-cheek collection of prefaces to a Borgesian bookshelf of nonexistent texts. ( The Jerusalem Report , Matt Nesvisky) REVIEW: One of the best and most fascinating books I have had the pleasure to read in a very long time. ( Bookforum , Nick Tosches) REVIEW: The record of emotional maturity, a human wisdom that may have been slowed by intellectual effort. ( Rain Taxi , W.C. Bamberger) Steiner at his most complex: irascible and passionate, erudite and self-absorbed, determined to engage the most difficult cultural problems. Steiner at his most complex: irascible and passionate, erudite and self-absorbed, determined to engage the most difficult cultural problems. This spicily honest little book exposes more of the man than ever before. By the time you finish this book, it is obvious that Steiner remains a beacon of humane rationalism. George Steiner's splendid My Unwritten Books suggests we need a pro-life movement in the publishing world—now. Extraordinary Fellow of Churchill College at Cambridge University and the author of dozens of books ( The Death of Tragedy , After Babel , Martin Heidegger , In Bluebeard’s Castle ), George Steiner is one of the world’s foremost intellectuals. Used Book in Good Condition