Museum of Lost Wonder
by Jeff Hoke
List Price:
Our Price: $7.94
You Save: $42.01 (84%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.89 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Jeff HokeEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-08-01
ISBN: 1578633648
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Weiser Books
Book Reviews of Museum of Lost Wonder
Book Review: Delightfully Enlightening and Indulgently Educational!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you're looking for some "adventurous" reading during the coming cold winter months, you don't have to look further than Jeff Hoke's "The Museum of Lost Wonder." When I was preparing my thoughts about reviewing this book, I kept trying to figure out just where I was going to place this book as far as literary genre is concerned; How to categorize it? -- Where does it fit? Externally, it looks like just another "coffee-table" contribution. But even coffee-table books can be categorized for the most part. This book, however, is almost encyclopedic in its coverage, drawing its information from a vast variety of resources, including philosophy, astronomy, religion, biology, physics, psychology, the arts, ancient alchemy, modern quantum mechanics, and even Eastern intellectual thought. I have decided, therefore, to place this book in the seldom-used literary genre called intellectual "potpourri" (and, yes, there is such a category).
As for me, I'm going to leave it on the coffee table in my living room for quite a while so it can be easily perused by my guests and myself. It will be a coffee-table book in my home, at least for a while, although it is much more than merely another "showpiece." You see, this is a book not meant to be read from cover to cover in, say, one or two or even three sittings. This is a book to be, well, "savored"; think in terms of tasting and appreciating a fine wine or some unusual hors d'oeuvres. The enjoyment of the experience should be spread over time.
I think the best approach to this book is this: pick it up, read the introductory parts, and then skim through it, briefly pondering the excellent (and should I say, "tantalizing"?) artwork offered, and stopping here and there to read some of the text as one's interest is piqued. Then come back to the book now and then, find a section of particular interest, read that section, maybe do a few of the suggested experiments (yes, there are some interesting little adventures here!), and maybe put some of the models together. Models? Oh, yes, this is much more than a book to be read. It is also an "activity" book and, I suggest, mainly for older teenagers or adults (most of the models would prove difficult for young children to assemble, in my opinion). There are seven models that can be put together to illustrate the seven themes (or "exhibit" halls) of the "museum."
And, yes, it is truly a "museum," although not like one most of us are familiar with. The purpose of this museum is clearly stated by the author: "Discover...forgotten things in the world around us. Recover...forgotten things in the world within you. Uncover...forgotten things not in this world at all." There is no doubt that the museum -- that is, the book -- lives up to its purpose. As the author's bio in the back of the book points out: "This is not just a book, but an experience." And that, it truly is. One of the experiences you'll have is being accompanied through the museum, er..."book," by "Gnomon," a cartoonish stick-figure who appears now and then in comic strips or individual panels and seems to function as sometime guide and sometime thought-provoking character.
Each one of the seven exhibit halls has a specific theme, beginning with "Calcinatio" (Hall of Technology), continuing with "Solutio" (Hall of Aquaria), Coagulatio" (Zoological Garden),"Sublimatio" (The Observatory), "Mortificatio" (Mausoleum of History), "Separatio" (Science and Faith), and ending with "Conjunctio" (Gallery of the Arts). Each of these exhibit halls has its own "Muse"; now, if you don't know what that is, you'll have to find out for yourself. Within these informative halls the reader will recognize the likes of famous philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle, and Descartes, some very influential scientists, such as Abraham Maslow and Sir Isaac Newton, as well as discussions of topics both futurific and arcane. How about playing the "Heroic Vacation Game"? How about building a "Carousel of Life" model? How about performing a "sensory deprivation experiment" right at home? These and much more are here in "The Museum of Lost Wonder."
Now, a few words of warning to potential readers -- and these reflect strictly my own personal assessment of the book. If you have a closed mind, limited in its capacity for imaginative thought, this may not be the best book for you (although, I guess it could help open your mind a little if you gave it a chance!). If you are really squeamish about uncomfortable and unfamiliar ideas, you may want to think twice about reading this book (on the other hand, maybe this is just the antidote you need!). And, finally, if intellectual "weirdness" and wandering into "strange" territory will challenge your own beliefs and you're fearful of having to rethink those beliefs, you may want to pass this book by (but, of course, you'll pass up an opportunity to expand your horizons and enhance your life!). So, if you decide to go ahead and experience a trip through this "museum of lost wonder," don't say I didn't warn you.
In conclusion, just let me say that Hoke's book is delightfully enlightening and indulgently educational and the artwork is extraordinary, witty, and, in many ways, downright clever. And speaking of the artwork, which is really the bulk of the book (at least it seems that way), I'm glad that he was the one drawing it all because I wouldn't attempt to take on such a massive project (and it would be interesting to know how much time it took him to draw all the illustrations!). I highly recommend this book to everyone who really enjoys the experience of "wondering," that childlike phenomenon that we adults all too often lose, much to our own regret. This is a thought-provoking, mind-expanding, and thoroughly engaging book and, if you actually do the experiments and assemble the models, you'll get some physical exercise, too! What more could a reader ask for the cold winter months to come?
Summary of Museum of Lost Wonder
The Museum of Lost Wonder is a book with a mission, simply stated: To illuminate life's mysteries. The execution is nearly indescribable. Think McSweeney's production values and design pyrotechnics. Think traditional esoteric symbols in a childhood garden of wonder. Think graphic novel and an adult version of the coolest activity book ever made. And you'll be somewhere in the neighborhood.Jeff Hoke has created a history of the human imagination with visual cues and clues and wonderment about and around everything you ever thought and everything you wish you'd been crafty enough to think. He has built a museum accessible to all, in book format, arranged with 7 halls (representing the seven stages of alchemical process) in which the questions of the universe unfold. All one needs to enter is some basic understanding of the human experience.
Open The Museum of Lost Wonder, and step into an alternative world full of beautiful drawings, interesting historical tidbits, thoughtful challenges to common myths, and projects and pursuits to complete at home. Pages pull out with cutouts for building models. Hoke's museum is graphic novel meets quantum physics meets mythical journey meets spirit.
Hoke begins with The Calcinatio Hall where the featured exhibit is The Beginning of Everything and leads us into halls like The Sublimatio Hall, with the exhibit How To Have Visions. In The Separatio Hall the exhibit Where Are You Going challenges us in our own journey. Through each hall we are led into an exhibit that questions our own understanding of life and urges us into new ways of thinking. As in wandering the great, immense halls of an ancient museum with endless corridors and fascinating exhibits, the reader is instantly pulled into this enormously imaginative pursuit. Each page is full of depth and questions. And each hall features a special fold-out interactive page.
The Museum of Lost Wonder is a ray of hope in a dreary world. It is an oasis in an age when we are inundated everywhere we go with messages of consumption and materialism. It is an invitation into the imagination of a brilliant artist as well as a welcome back into your own imagination. It is a call to challenge your mind and your mind's eye to re-assess what you believe to be true and what you know to be true. Once you enter the museum, there is no turning back. For the price of admission you get a whole new perspective on the meaning of life and your purpose in it.
Arts & Photography Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Arts & Photography Books
The Interpersonal Communication Book, 10th Editionby Joseph A. DeVito
Allyn & Bacon; Published: 2003-03-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.46
Price in other shops:
What Good Are the Arts?by John Carey
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2010-02-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.61
Price in other shops:
Surrational Images: PHOTOMONTAGESby Scott Mutter
University of Illinois Press; Published: 1992-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.81
Price in other shops:
Printing with Adobe Photoshop CS4by Tim Daly
Focal Press; Published: 2009-05-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.45
Price in other shops:
Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativityby Michelle Bates
Unknown; Focal Press; Published: 2006-10-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.99
Price in other shops:
The Humanistic Tradition, Book 1: The First Civilizations and the Classical Legacyby Gloria Fiero
McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; Published: 2010-01-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $31.96
Patternmaking for Fashion Design (5th Edition)by Helen Joseph Armstrong
Prentice Hall; Published: 2009-10-26; Hardcover-spiral; Book
Best price: $94.00
Price in other shops:
Walking the Bible: A Photographic Journeyby Bruce Feiler
PBS; William Morrow; Published: 2005-10-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.67
Price in other shops:
Lives of the Circus Animals: A Novelby Christopher Bram
William Morrow; Published: 2003-09-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.65
Price in other shops:
Respect for Actingby Uta Hagen
Macmillan; Published: 1973-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Melchizedek and the Mystery of Fire (Adept Series)by Manly P. Hall
Philosophical Research Society; Published: 1996-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.95
Quadrivium: The Four Classical Liberal Arts of Number, Geometry, Music, & Cosmology (Wooden Books)by Miranda Lundy, Anthony Ashton, Dr. Jason Martineau, Daud Sutton, John Martineau
Walker & Company; Published: 2010-10-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.79
Price in other shops:
The Art of Being and Becomingby Hazrat Inayat Khan
Omega Publications; Published: 2005-08-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.94
Price in other shops:
Between the Gates: Lucid Dreaming, Astral Projection, and the Body of Light in Western Esotericismby Mark Stavish
Weiser Books; Published: 2008-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.78
Price in other shops:
The Kybalion (Tarcher Cornerstone Editions)by Three Initiates
Tarcher; Published: 2008-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.49
Price in other shops:
The Book Of Symbols: Reflections On Archetypal Images (The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism)by Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism, ARAS
Taschen; Published: 2010-11-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.42
Price in other shops:
Pantone Postcard Box: 100 Postcardsby Pantone Inc.
Chronicle Books; Chronicle Books; Published: 2011-06-22; Card Book; Book
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops:
Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlasby Rebecca Solnit
University of California Press; Published: 2010-11-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.00
Price in other shops:
Swami Panchadasi's Clairvoyance and Occult Powers: A Lost Classicby William Walker Atkinson
Weiser Books; Published: 2011-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.15
Price in other shops:
The Mentalist's Handbook: An Explorer's Guide to Astral, Spirit, and Psychic Worldsby Clint Marsh
Weiser Books; Published: 2008-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.48
Price in other shops: