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William Blake vs the World

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William Blake vs the World

By: John Higgs
Narrated by: John Higgs
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'Fascinating' The Times
'Blakeian in its singularity' New Statesman
'A wonderful adventure' Irish Times
'Rich, complex and original' Tom Holland
'A crisp, ambitious and thoroughly contemporary introduction' Times Literary Supplement

Poet, artist, visionary and author of the unofficial English national anthem 'Jerusalem', William Blake is an archetypal misunderstood genius. In this radical new biography, we return to a world of riots, revolutions and radicals, discuss movements from the Levellers of the sixteenth century to the psychedelic counterculture of the 1960s, and explore the latest discoveries in neurobiology, quantum physics and comparative religion to look afresh at Blake's life and work - and, crucially, his mind. Taking the reader on wild detours into unfamiliar territory, John Higgs places the bewildering eccentricities of a most singular artist into context and shows us how Blake can help us better understand ourselves.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 John Higgs (P)2021 Orion Publishing Group Art & Literature Authors Literary History & Criticism Inspiring Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

"A glittering stream of revelatory light.... Fascinating." (The Times)

"One of the best books on Blake I have ever read." (David Keenan)

"Absolutely wonderful!" (Terry Gilliam)

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This is a wonderful book - a must read for any Blake fan.

Since my days as an Art student, I've always felt a strong affinity for Blake (especially his paintings) - but his writings, rendered in terms of a personal mythology, made them annoyingly incomprehensible, even to his contemporary readers. What is needed is a key to unlock the astonishing originality of Blake's expansive mind. John Higgs provides us with that key.
More than simply explaining the biographical details of William Blake's life (illustrated by numerous eye witness testimonies), John Higgs manages, with great skill, to map the mind of this extraordinary man and shows him to be a great soul - a true colossus of original thought .

The gently lilting narration is a pleasure to listen to: the wide ranging ideas expressed are truly profound.

Blake's championing of the limitless power of the imagination against the stultifying limits of fundamentalist materialism is an important message for today's world. I wish you Bon Appetit with Blake vs the World.

Always felt an affinity for Blake. Now I know why

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Truly glorious - Quantum physics to heaven and everywhere in between (and all at once). An incredible look at Blake, his influences, contemporaries, times and influence - but also so much more. I am.astounded by how easy and enjoyable a listen this is given the wealth of information and potentially life changing perspectives within.

Divine

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The book makes Blake so accessible and interesting. Brilliant! Will be buying more by this author.

learned so much!

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the first book i have read/listened to cover to cover in over a decade.

just superb

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I think John higgs is quite possibly a literary genius. He weaves a huge amount of narrative ideas into a coherent, accessible book.

I didn't know a single thing about William blake before listening to this. I only bought the book because I've loved some of the author's others. I wasn't especially expecting to enjoy it as Blake isn't a topic I was particularly interested in, but I'm really glad I took a chance on it.

Not only is it fascinating to learn about Blake, but the author weaves in ideas about philosophy, history, spirituality, science, consciousness, reality among other topics. And the history and development of each. On top of that he's a really very good narrator.

This book is brilliant.

perfect

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