Underscores the writer s profound erudition, lively wit, and passion for ideas of all shapes and sizes . . . Eco s pleasure in such explorations is obvious and contagious. "Booklist" " Inventing the Enemy" covers a wide range of topics on which Eco has written and lectured over the past ten years: from a disquisition on the theme that runs through his recent novel "The Prague Cemetery" every country needs an enemy, and if it doesn t have one, must invent it to a discussion of ideas that have inspired his earlier novels (and in the process he takes us on an exploration of lost islands, mythical realms, and the medieval world); from indignant reviews of James Joyce s "Ulysses "by fascist journalists of the 1920s and 1930s, to an examination of Saint Thomas Aquinas s notions about the soul of an unborn child, to censorship and violence and WikiLeaks. These are essays full of passion, curiosity, and obsession by one of the world s most esteemed scholars and critically acclaimed, best-selling novelists. True wit and wisdom coexist with fierce scholarship inside Umberto Eco, a writer who actually knows a thing or two about being truly human. "Buffalo News" "Thought provoking . . . nuanced . . . the collection amply shows off Eco's sophisticated, agile mind." " Publishers Weekly""