You’d expect that a book called Silence would be about, well, silence, wouldn’t you? While Silence in the age of noise certainly explores the idea of silence, it doesn’t focus on the idea in the way you might expect. Much like his Walking: One Step at a Time, there is a great deal of insight to be found here. One of the things that Kagge focuses on, to my endless fascination, is our discomfort with silence. A discomfort of silence that we're all familiar when we're at the dinner table with friends or wrapped up in other social obligations but a discomfort that is quite contrary to the popular employment of phrases like "silence is golden" and associating quiet with peace.

of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars Silence: In the Age of Noise by Erling KaggeAs an explorer Erling Kagge is world class; as a writer he is equally gifted. This breathtaking, inspiring little book teaches us how to find precious moments of silence - whether we are crossing the Antarctic, climbing Everest, or on the train at rush hour' - Sir Ranulph Fiennes The author's powers of endurance, extreme austerities during his travels makes you want to get a grip on life and stop complaining. In a way, silence is the opposition to all of this. It’s about getting inside what you are doing. Experiencing rather than overthinking. Allowing each moment to be big enough. Not living through other people and other things. Shutting out the world and fashioning your own silence whenever you run, cook food, have sex, study, chat, work, think of a new idea, read or dance.* There are messages and hints built in but it’s not a how-to book, rather a meditation on stillness.

I estimated that the creature was as long as our boat, about 65ft (19m). Judging from its length, I supposed that it was a fin whale, a cosmopolitan mammal on a lifelong hunt for crabs, krill and fish. Blue whales are about the same size, but as we have managed to nearly exterminate them, I figured the odds of the world’s largest animal swimming alongside us to be rather slim.I found this book deeply unsatisfying. Whatever it's about, it's not really about silence. Erling Kagge is a well known explorer and traveller. My expectations, based on the book's summary, was that he would be writing about his experiences of silence journeying to the North or South Poles, for example, and that he might reach some profound conclusions. But no! After a few minutes of walking, Kagge answered that it was worthwhile following trails in the forest, or somewhere similar where the trail wasn't always clear but full of roots and obstacles that required one's full attention to avoid stumbling. You'll be so occupied watching where you step, Kagge’s reasoning went, that you won't have time to think about other things. A series of lyrical vignettes. . . . Kagge is clearly qualified to write about the soul-reviving benefits of quiet.” — O, The Oprah Magazine Norveçli kaşif/yazar/yayıncı Erling Kagge bunu anlatıyor. Everest’in tepesinde, Kuzey ve Güney kutuplarındaki uzun ve bir o kadar soğuk yürüyüşlerindeki sessizliği. Where fear is ever present you will never tire of pleasure in the relationship. It sounds brutal, but Stendhal is right. Life is brutal. I am living dangerously when I take a relationship for granted. Most people think climbing Everest is very risky, but things usually work out. However, taking reciprocal love for granted – I would never dare do that.”

A joyful celebration” (NPR) that shows us why silence is essential to our sanity and happiness—and how it can open doors to wonder and gratitude—from a renowned explorer and acclaimed author. The book is a chronicle of philosophy on the topic of silence. But rather than just summarizing that discussion, Kagge applies it to everything from exploring the underground world of New York City to the appreciation of art and music. Now I don't see myself running off to Antarctica anytime soon, but I do believe that many of us go through our days, without noticing anything, without time to think and ponder. He talks about the silence in music, how the pauses makes what come after more powerful. I agree. He tells us how to find and notice the silence within ourselves, how to use it to gain a new perspective. What Kagge actually means by silence in this book is that feeling of stillness, of being alone with your thoughts, rather than coping with the constant input of ideas and work by others into your skull. It’s so easy to avoid just being alone with our own thoughts when we carry little digital distraction devices with us everywhere. Finding a path into a period of time with just ourselves and the natural environment is something we now have to actively seek, as life no longer provides it to us regularly. Silence through subtraction

Who should read it?: This is one of those books that I truly believe everyone should give a shot. It's not going to be for everyone, and some still might read it and get nothing out of it. I can't speak highly enough about it. Erling Kagge is a philosophical adventurer - or perhaps an adventurous philosopher' - New York Times First of all: yeah, I bet. Fun dinner table convo. Second: Kagge tries to use this story to make a point about the evils of technology, but isn't the actual takeaway here that technology is AMAZING and allowed a DYING MAN TO NAME HIS CHILD ON THE PHONE WITH HIS WIFE FROM MOUNT EVEREST? Dude. There are about 10,000 anecdotes one could use to prove the perils of tech, and you're going with this?