I've read all of eco's books. He really makes research. Foucaults pendulum in his native language is just amazing. He touches every sense from the ocultism to the reality going through jacobd=s de molat and the templars, the rosicrucians, astrology , brazil and bleck magic...Of course everything vs scientific methods and reaL life. Also the picture of differtent cities is great.For me he gives thhe best description of the count of st germain.. the first 100 pages are not worth it but the whole explains it all

Umberto Eco uses a psychology lecture as the springboard for telling the remarkable story of Anabelle X. Born illegitimately into a rich Sicilian family, Anabelle was diagnosed as mentally unstable at the age of 3 and institutionalized. She stayed in the asylum until her premature death at age 16. Her journal was later discovered, revealing a mind that was possessed by genius, yet utterly unique. Deprived of family and friends and believing herself insane, Anabelle's strange and haunting writings make up the bulk of Eco's text. A translation of the complete journal is supposedly underway, but meanwhile Incontro is an excellent introduction to a singular figure. Thought provoking, insightful and ultimately heartbreaking.

Considering that some people I know submitted essays in this book, I think everyone should have a copy or two. Someone needs to feed them, starving as they are as professors.

The Italian Umberto Eco is a literary critic, novelist, and semiotician (studying symbols and symbol systems).

His introductory work to this fascinating field is "Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language" which is easier to start with. In "Theory of Semiotics" he presents his views. In his novel "The Name of the Rose" (1980) he brings the study of semiotics to fiction.

In this book, Eco sets out to illustrate how the reader engages in constructing meaning when reading texts. Like Roland Barthes and others in the field of semiotics (which is the study of symbols in culture), Eco draws upon Ferdinand de Saussure (Course in General Linguistics) and Claude Levi-Strauss (Structural Anthropology). Yet Eco recognizes that meaning is not merely governed by structure, but also interactively constructed by the reader/interpreter, who often inserts or fills-in missing meaning to construct a coherent picture.

Readers interested in questions of meaning, the philosophy of language, signs and symbols will find this a fascinating work. Although the subject matter is challenging, Eco's style is clear - he is a masterful writer.

If you want to know what meaning 'means' in linguistics inquiry then this is an incredible volume. Eco's discussion of theories of meaning based on dictionaries and encyclopedias and the relationship between the two shoud be read by linguists and computer scientists alike as this debate (which is really the heart of much of the book) has direct bearing on theories of grammar and artificial intelligence (much to the detriment of most modern theories of the latter). The only real complaint I have is that the initial chapter is quite dense and definitely not understandable for the reader not versed in at least some of his concepts--I had family members who wanted to know what I study and so I gave them this volume and they could not get past the first chapter to the meat of the book, which is very well written.

The Italian Umberto Eco is a towering figure. A literary critic, novelist, and semiotician (studying symbols and symbol systems), he gained international recognition with "The Name of the Rose" (1980) in which he brought the study of semiotics to fiction. In this book, "Theory of Semiotics", he makes his contribution to the theoretical study of signs encompassing all cultural phenomena. His focus is on the development of a methodology of communication.

Like Roland Barthes, Eco starts from the foundations of semiotics in Saussure (Course in General Linguistics: who developed the idea of sign-systems and the sign/signified distinction, as well as the distinction between langue/parole - language and speech) and Claude Levi-Strauss (Structural Anthropology). Yet Eco surpasses this tradition to move into new territory, recognizing the limits to structuralism and Saussure's ideas. He recognizes, for example, that meaning is not merely governed by structure, but also interactively constructed by the reader/interpreter, who often inserts or fills-in missing meaning to construct a coherent picture.

Those interested in an introductory work to this fascinating field should be pointed to Eco's work "Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language" which is easier to start with.

Before I say anything about the book - I think the Editorial Review and the first Synopsis that appears above should be deleted. The Editorial gives the plot and the villain away and the Synopsis is just plain wrong - it's not the Franciscans suspected of heresy that William is after! Also, he initially arrives to the Benedictine abbey on a diplomatic mission, and gets involved only later in the investigation, and this of the murders, and not the stray Franciscans! Anyway, I first read The Name of the Rose in college, in a well-annotated Korean edition, and at that time I thought it was a great mystery but the historical/argumentative parts bogged it down a bit. Now I am reading it again in English, with a lot more appreciation and interest in Middle Age civilization and politics, and I am savoring every detail. It helps to have The Key to the Name of the Rose at hand, since the English edition doesn't offer any explanations on the Latin or the numerous historical figures mentioned (but The Key isn't perfect either - sometimes the glossary doesn't seem to offer enough pertinent information). I find myself laughing out loud at William's wickedly done impersonations of Sherlock Holmes. As Eco himself says, this is a story of and for people who love books, with all the usual possessiveness, curiosity and jealousy, and it is a really great read.

This novel captures the human spirit in all its paradoxical splendor. The story is a mystery about mystery with wonderful literary references, some subtle, some even more subtle. It may be read casually or it may serve as the central book in a course on medieval history and theology. Eco evokes a sense of vastness and awe of the infinite in his fictional account of serial murders of monks living in a medieval monastary, murders which on the surface seem historically insignificant. There is a strong sense that the author worked very hard in weaving this tale, ever crafty and inventive, ever watchful of his creation and all who dwell there; yet at times the tale seems to tell itself, rather, the writer was merely re-iterating a story told to him. The margins dividing fact and fiction become arbitrary and all that remains is our belief (or suspension of disbelief) in the story. Indeed, important literary and philosophical questions remain unanswered in the end despite the conclusion of the murder-mystery. Our curiosity and need for an answer is temporarily satiated, until we realize that while the story is over the mystery continues. This book is obviously the result of painstaking labor and momentous inspiration, the finite and infinite united in art. Wonderful stuff.

Forget the movie version of THE NAME OF THE ROSE. This brilliant book by Umberto Eco is meant to be read, absorbed, considered, held close to your chest before you reluctantly put it down. Filled with complexities - philosophy, historical details, superb characterizations - it does not make for easy reading. I'm a seasoned reader of classics and literary fiction, and yet I struggled through the first pages. What a mistake it would have been to give up! Once I reached page 50 or so, I couldn't put it down.

By now, the plot is well known: a monk and his young assistant (the narrator) arrive at a monastery to investigate heresy at the height of the Inquisition. No sooner do they arrive when their focus is shifted to a series of mysterious murders. Who is behind the atrocious acts, and why? Is there greater meaning to the deaths than first appears?

While the suspenseful plot keeps the story moving forward at surprising speed (surprising, given the language and wealth of historical details), the philosophy of the era is the soul of the novel, lending credulity to the characters and their situations as well as having implications for those living in the 21st century. Issues of censorship, free thought, the power of the written word, and the need for rational thought in chaotic times all come into play.

THE NAME OF THE ROSE is a magnificent example of fiction destined to last. I highly recommend it for serious readers of all tastes.

After reading The Name of the Rose with few helps, discovering this book was quite wonderful. It goes into adaquate detail with the historical background, and I found the translations to be good and very helpful. A must for those trying the novel for the first time or for those who felt the lack of endnotes frustrating. A wonderful suppplement.

The Key to "The Name of the Rose" by Adele J. Haft, Jane G. White, and Robert J. White is a wonderful little book. When was the last time you used your Latin that you had in High School? You say, you never had Latin... well how do you expect to solve the clues that Brother William of Baskerville in "The Name of the Rose" gets.

Well, the answer is in this little tome as it includes translations of all of the Non-English passages making you as "smart" as Brother William. This book furthers your experience when reading "The Name of the Rose" as you now can decode the juicy clues. Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" is about crimes in a medieval abbey and the obsession of it monks with heresies, apocalyptic visions, and forbidden knowledge.

This "Key" is a delightful guide to the phrases and bizarre characters and has mirthful anecdotes that you're sure to enjoy and you'll solve the mystery of the seven deaths as fast as Brother William and enjoy the intrigue in doing so.

i am hoping to do an intricate performance art piece based on the novel "the name of the rose;" however, many of the lush details and layers were lost on me, because i am not a historian or a scholar well-versed in semiotics... the task is still daunting, but i feel more confident having this "hint book" to fill me in on the background information. it renders the novel much more accessible to a lay person, and makes the story even MORE fascinating than it already is. i suggest that anyone reading "the name of the rose" should have a copy of this to help them along... also, there is a text that does this same task for dante's "divine comedy" (dante has a large influence on the novel, so reading dante will help the reader to understand the apocolyptic attitudes of the characters). joseph gallagher wrote "a modern reader's guide to dante's 'the divine comedy'" which you may also find helpful.

This is an excellent short review of European quest for a language to unite its disparate nations with each other and the rest of the world. I thought that the book did an excellent job of staying on the subject and illustrating the progression of thought in this area. It does confine itself to Europe and time period as defined in the beginning of the book. That is excellent, there is simply no other way to cover as much ground as the book attempts to do, and I feel that it does suceed admirably. As usual, Eco's erudition and research are amazing. This book is published in the context of a European series of books about Europe and I wish there was a similar book series that would cover this ground for Far East and India as well. I am sure people there worked on the same kind of problems. Some of the problems with languages and methods described seem so obvious that one has to wonder what the authors themselves thought about them. Of course, this is a whole other book series. I wish there was a 4 1/2 rating as I do not think this is truly a masterpiece, but certainly a very very good book from a very very good author of fiction and non-fiction. A bonus for fans of Focault's Pendulum -- a lot of data in that fiction book refers to work discussed in this non-fiction work. Great fun!

This is an amazing book. My only complaint is that it is about a topic with no resolution - it is a catalogue of attempts that have all met with failure. But it is instructive that so many have tried to create the perfect language, and are still trying. Perhaps it is the hand of God from the moment of the tower of Babel that is blocking success.

When I first started reading linguistics (triggered by an SF novel by Sam Delany called 'Babel 7') I soon learned that the origins of language were taboo. Linguists had decided the topic had been subject to so much questionable and unsuccessful research that they would concentrate their work elsewhere. But in this book Mr Eco explores these early searches for the pre-Adamic language that all human kind were supposed to have evolved with (provided evolution was allowed anyway). Of course Hebrew was THE candidate in the West, but even Chinese was considered by some.

When this line of investigation petered out the philosophers tried to develop generic languages that could be understood by all people and to do this they had to think carefully about the logic of naming things and the logic of the grammar that connects ideas. The categories of knowledge and the development of encyclopedias were triggered by these endeavours. As I read this book, gradually I could see forming in the corners of my mind just what these people were doing, just what they were trying to create. And I suspect it could be successful if we were taught with it, grew up with it. But it is such a daunting task and always the expressiveness of natural language - what we have grown up with and what has grown with us as need has required - makes it seem a thankless task.

I guess this type of perfect language - unambiguous and universal - has never cemeted itself in anyone's mind - it has always been a dimly glowing ideal on the periphery of understanding. Perhaps we are not genetically equipped for this type of language. I value the effort Mr Eco has put into sharing these ideas with us, and value the time I have spent trying to grasp them.

This book traces a pesky idea that's been bumping around Western culture for centuries: the idea that a language (or language-like formalism) is possible (which either existed, or which we can devise) which is somehow truer than our mundane languages. Eco traces this idea starting from its roots in ancient times, and he goes into fine detail in discussing the "philosophical languages" of the Renaissance, before discussing more recent constructed languages (Esperanto and the like).

The prose is very clear and straightforward, and the subject full of interesting nooks and crannies.

The book is most valuable in that, once you've read it, you will start recognizing the "perfect language" idea popping up everywhere -- the idea that if we just stick to a really rigid formalism (which we're /almost/ finished coming up with!), then we can get everything right. This idea appears in everything from formalist linguistics ("since the framework is perfect, you just plug in the right parameters for your language, and it works!"), to the voodoo equations of quantitative political science ("and this formula /explains/ why the Sino-Japanese war happened!"), to American law ("I don't care if this law is just -- I'm talking about whether, formally, it's Constitutional; because that's what really matters!"), to the endless wars over which is the best programming language ("Python is better than Perl because it's based on objects, and if you don't understand why that's important, you need to learn more lambda calculus, and indent your code more /correctly/!").

It'll make you think twice about anything that needlessly uses a formalism for expressing what could be said just fine in one of these mundane languages we speak!

In this collection of short essays published in a span of over 30 years in various magazines, Eco takes all kinds of themes in a mood for parody and satire.
Dealt with here are various modern day commodities (phones, gadgets etc.) as well as ...trains, buses, libraries, waiters, and in general themes that bear no connection with them ..
Reading this book through is not much different than being engaged in conversation with a very witty person who's got an opinion on everybody and everything and has a very special way to deliver it on top of it.
Some of the subjets of these essays may seem a bit out of time (times have indeed changed since some of these were written) but the humor is the prevailant factor here, a caustic humor characteristic of Eco anyway.
If you've gotten to know this brilliant author and mind through his classics such as "Foucault's pendulum" and "The name of the rose" you might find yourself surprised with what's on offer on this book. It's a style you might've not expected, but this does in no way mean you'll be dissapointed. On the extreme contrary!
Great book, reads through like a breeze, and so packed with hilarious lines/conclusion/observations that you'll surely return to it many times.

In this collection of humourous essays, Umberto Eco exemplifies my most favourite literary character: the lovable curmudgeon. Only he happens to be a curmudgeon blessed with world class wit, an encyclopedic knowledge of history and art and literature, and the reputation as the world's leading expert on semiotics. I enjoy his writing best when he's not wielding all of those swords at once. During those pieces the humour gets tangled up in the academia, causing migraine headaches for his less nimble-minded audience (an example of this is the long piece 'Stars and Stripes', which in the interest of full disclosure I'll admit to not understanding).

The better pieces are quick, to the point, and almost existential. They are also very accessible. 'On the Impossibility of Drawing a Map of the Empire on a Scale of 1 to 1' takes that wickedly mischievous proposition to its logical conclusion, and skewers the pomposity of academics who feel equipped to offer a truthful representation of the world. Eco himself knowingly gets caught in that crossfire, much to his own delight. My favourite piece is entitled 'How Not to Use the Cellular Phone'. In it, he rationally categorizes cell phone users (ranging from those so important they need to be on-call 24 hours a day, to those living lives so lame they must constantly be in contact with people who might be doing something interesting). Upon completion, I felt justified in my desire to never own one of those horrendous little gadgets.

Once again, a funny little book that makes you look at the world your living in just a bit differently. What more can you ask?

In this hysterical collection of essays, Umberto tackles everything from the Italian driver-licensing bureau to the cosmic army of the future--one that doesn't seem to be able to do anything really useful save dispatching astrograms to each other. Eco is delightful, mocking at times, right on point throughout. Whether you want to know the truth about talk-show hosts, how to deal with soccar fans, taxi-drivers and, well, salmon, how to buy useless gadgets, or simply want to hear the secret rules concerning library organization (no bathrooms), how to compile toilet-paper inventories, you'll love this book. The book is enjoyable throughout with its often bizarrely funny juxtapostition of the mundane and the learned.