Product Description

To humans, the heart has always been more than flesh and blood. Rising above its biological function, it has, instead, become the symbol of our emotions. Fear, sadness, anger, love, restlessness, discernment, foreboding, pleasure, longing, comfort, pride, despair - all that signifies passion and the human spirit are the domain of the heart. Gail Godwin takes us on a breathtaking journey that spans the entire history of human civilization, combining literature, myth, religion, philosophy, medicine, the fine arts, and intensely personal stories from the writer's own past to explore the full and complex character of this unique icon. Brimming with intelligence and wit, Godwin's explorations and meditations brilliantly track themes of the heart in life, legend, and in art: from the first drawing of the 'heart-shaped' heart to the first valentine, from Gilgamesh to Confucius, from the heart of darkness to wearing one's heart on one's sleeve. A work of great charm, creativity, scholarship, and passion, HEART offers us a wonderful look at where we come from and what has always sustained us.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3083536 in Books
• Published on: 2002-02-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

THE TIMES
'The sacred and the profane and mingled together in this lively anthology'

From the Publisher
The perfect gift book, on a subject with universal appeal.

About the Author
Gail Godwin is the three-time National Book Award nominee and nationally bestselling author of two collections of short fiction and ten highly acclaimed novels, including A MOTHER AND TWO DAUGHTERS, A SOUTHERN FAMILY, FATHER'S MELANCHOLY DAUGHTER, and EVENSONG. She has taught at the University of Iowa, Vassar, and Columbia University, and has edited the BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES collection. She lives in Woodstock, New York.