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In May 2010, [[Enhanced Editions]], in association with [[Canongate Books]], released an [http://www.enhanced-editions.com/books/sum/ iPhone/iPad/iPod enhanced eBook version of Sum], integrating the audio book with the text. The audiobook was narrated by the author as well as Gillian Anderson, Emily Blunt, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Jack Davenport, Lisa Dwan, Noel Fielding, Kerry Fox, Stephen Fry, Clarke Peters, Lemn Sissay and Harriet Walter.
In May 2010, [[Enhanced Editions]], in association with [[Canongate Books]], released an [http://www.enhanced-editions.com/books/sum/ iPhone/iPad/iPod enhanced eBook version of Sum], integrating the audio book with the text. The audiobook was narrated by the author as well as Gillian Anderson, Emily Blunt, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Jack Davenport, Lisa Dwan, Noel Fielding, Kerry Fox, Stephen Fry, Clarke Peters, Lemn Sissay and Harriet Walter.


Readings from the book are featured in a number of episodes of the [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]'s radio programme "WireTap".
Readings from the book are featured in a number of episodes of the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]'s radio programme "WireTap".
The episode "Circle of Friends" features the story "Circle of Friends". <ref>http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/2010/12/03/circle-of-friends/</ref>
The episode "Circle of Friends" features the story "Circle of Friends". <ref>http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/2010/12/03/circle-of-friends/</ref>
The episode "26 Minutes, 30 Seconds" features the story "Sum" read by Jane Lewis.<ref>http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/blog/2011/03/04/26-minutes-30-seconds-re-broadcast/</ref>
The episode "26 Minutes, 30 Seconds" features the story "Sum" read by Jane Lewis.<ref>http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/blog/2011/03/04/26-minutes-30-seconds-re-broadcast/</ref>

Revision as of 18:16, 19 March 2011

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
File:SumBookCover.jpg
AuthorDavid Eagleman
LanguageEnglish
PublisherPantheon Books
Publication date
10 Feb 2009
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint Hardback
Pages107[1] (Hardback, 2009)
ISBNISBN 978-0307377340 (Hardcover, 2009) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
OCLC228676738 [1]
813/.6 22 [1]
LC ClassPS3605.A375 S86 2009 [1]

Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, also simply called Sum (Template:Pron-en soom), is a work of speculative fiction by the neuroscientist David Eagleman. It is in press in 21 languages as of December 2009. The Los Angeles Times described it as "teeming, writhing with imagination."[2] Barnes and Noble named it one of the Best Books of 2009.[3]

Synopsis

As a short story cycle, the book presents forty mutually exclusive stories staged in a wide variety of possible afterlives. The author has stated that none of the stories are meant to be taken as serious theological proposals, but instead that the message of the book is the importance of exploring new ideas beyond the ones that have been traditionally passed down[4].

The title word "Sum" refers to the Latin for "I am," as in Cogito ergo sum.

Like Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, Sum does not fall cleanly under the traditional category of a novel. It has been called "philosofiction"[5], an "experimental novel"[6], and "a collection of thought experiments"[7]. Most of the stories are understood to "posit the afterlife as mirroring life on Earth"[8][9]

The New York Times Book Review called Sum a "delightful, thought-provoking little collection [which] belongs to that category of strange, unclassifiable books that will haunt the reader long after the last page has been turned" [10]. Sum was chosen by Time Magazine for their 2009 Summer Reading list, with the acclaim "Eagleman is a true original. Read Sum and be amazed. Reread Sum and be reamazed."[11]. Sum was selected as Book of the Week by both The Guardian[12] and The Week[13], and was the featured subject on the cover of two magazines in 2009, The Big Issue and Humanitie. On September 10, 2009, Sum was ranked by Amazon as the #2 bestselling book in the United Kingdom.[14]

The book is notable for receiving accolades not only from atheists (the recommendations of Philip Pullman, Brian Greene, Brian Eno, and others appear on the cover), but also from the religious community: for example, Sum was named as one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2009.[15]

Philosophy

Eagleman refers to himself as a Possibilian and to Sum as a reflection of that position[16][17]. According to his definition, possibilianism rejects both the idiosyncratic claims of traditional theism and the certainty of atheism in favor of a middle, exploratory ground [18]. The possibilian perspective is distinguished from agnosticism in that it consists of an active exploration of novel possibilities and an emphasis on holding multiple hypotheses at once when no data is available to privilege one position over the others [16]. Possibilianism is understood to be consonant with the "scientific temperament" of creativity and tolerance for multiple ideas when there is a lack of data.[4]

Speaking with the New York Times, Eagleman stated that he has an upcoming treatise entitled "Why I am a Possibilian" that will expand on the definition.[19]

File:DavidEagleman BrianEno.jpg
David Eagleman and Brian Eno performing Sum at the Sydney Opera House, June 6, 2009.

One of the stories in Sum, A Brief History of Death Switches, was originally published in the journal Nature, and subsequently anthologized in Futures from Nature.[20]

In June, 2009, Eagleman and musician Brian Eno performed a musical reading of Sum at the Sydney Opera House in Australia.[21]

A September 2009 episode of Radiolab featured comments from Eagleman and readings of two of the stories by actor Jeffrey Tambor.[22]

In May 2010, Enhanced Editions, in association with Canongate Books, released an iPhone/iPad/iPod enhanced eBook version of Sum, integrating the audio book with the text. The audiobook was narrated by the author as well as Gillian Anderson, Emily Blunt, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Jack Davenport, Lisa Dwan, Noel Fielding, Kerry Fox, Stephen Fry, Clarke Peters, Lemn Sissay and Harriet Walter.

Readings from the book are featured in a number of episodes of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's radio programme "WireTap". The episode "Circle of Friends" features the story "Circle of Friends". [23] The episode "26 Minutes, 30 Seconds" features the story "Sum" read by Jane Lewis.[24] The episode "All Beasts Go To Heaven" features the story "Descent of Species" read by Katie Malik.[25] The episode "We Are But the Stuff of Dreams" features the story "The Cast" read by Jane Lewis.[26] The episode "The Answering Machine" features the story "Spirals" read by Jane Lewis.[27] The episode "Adhesion" features the story "Adhesion" read by Elizabeth Robertson.[28] The episode "Getting Away From It All" features the story "Angst" read by Jane Lewis.[29] The episode "A Better You" features the story "Subjunctive" read by Elizabeth Robertson.[30] The episode "The Reverse Life" features the story "Reversal" read by Katie Malik.[31]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Sum : forty tales from the afterlives". Catalog Record. Library of Congress.
  2. ^ David Eaglemans Sum (book review), Los Angeles Times, February 1, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-02-08.
  3. ^ Best Books of 2009, Barnes and Noble Review, Dec 9, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Lanham, F. Writing about what comes next. Houston Chronicle. Feb 16, 2009.
  5. ^ David Eagleman's Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives (book review), Texas Monthly, February 2009. Retrieved on 2009-02-08.
  6. ^ Book reviews, Vanity Fair, February 2009.
  7. ^ NPR's Books We Like, by Oscar Villalon, The Afterlife? Not Quite What We Were Expecting
  8. ^ Tipping, J. Sum by David Eagleman: Engaging stories about the afterlife, Dallas Morning News, February 8, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-02-08.
  9. ^ Stark, A. In Our End Is Our Beginning, Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2009.
  10. ^ Alexander McCall Smith, Eternal Whimsy: Review of David Eagleman's Sum, New York Times Book Review, June 12, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-06-14.
  11. ^ TIME Magazine's 2009 Summer Reading list, July 13, 2009.
  12. ^ Nick Lezard, Life after life explained, The Guardian, June 13, 2009.
  13. ^ Book of the week: Sum: Forty Tales From the Afterlives by David Eagleman, The Week, March 6, 2009.
  14. ^ Story collection soars after Fry Tweet. Retrieved on Sept 10, 2009
  15. ^ The Best Spiritual Books of 2009, Spirituality and Practice.
  16. ^ a b NPR: Talk of the Nation, Feb 17, 2009. 'Afterlives'.
  17. ^ Choose your afterlife, MSNBC.com, Sept 10, 2009.
  18. ^ NPR: On Point, Feb 27, 2009. 'Envisioning the Afterlife'.
  19. ^ Wilson, Blake, Stray Questions for David Eagleman, NYTimes.com, July 10, 2009.
  20. ^ Henry Gee, ed. (October 2008). Futures from Nature. Tor Books. ISBN 978-0-7653-1806-0.
  21. ^ David Eagleman, Brian Eno & Friends: Tales from the Afterlives, Performance at the Sydney Opera House, June 6, 2009.
  22. ^ "WNYC - Radiolab: After Life". September 18, 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  23. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/2010/12/03/circle-of-friends/
  24. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/blog/2011/03/04/26-minutes-30-seconds-re-broadcast/
  25. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/season6/2009/09/19/all-beasts-go-to-heaven/
  26. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/2009/09/26/this-week-on-wiretap/
  27. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/season6/2009/11/21/the-answering-machine/
  28. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/season6/2009/12/05/adhesion/
  29. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/season6/2010/01/16/getting-away-from-it-all/
  30. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/season6/2009/09/12/a-better-you/
  31. ^ http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/episode/season6/2010/04/03/the-reverse-life/
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