From the Publisher
Only once did David Foster Wallace give a public talk on his views
on life, during a commencement address given in 2005 at Kenyon
College. The speech is reprinted for the first time in book form in
THIS IS WATER. How does one keep from going through their
comfortable, prosperous adult life unconsciously? How do we get
ourselves out of the foreground of our thoughts and achieve
compassion? The speech captures Wallace''s electric intellect as
well as his grace in attention to others. After his death, it
became a treasured piece of writing reprinted inThe Wall Street
Journaland theLondon Times, commented on endlessly in
blogs, and emailed from friend to friend.
Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of causal humor, exacting
intellect, and practical philosophy, David Foster Wallace probes
the challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us
with every reading.
About the Author
David Foster Wallace was born in Ithaca, New York, in 1962 and
raised in Illinois, where he was a regionally ranked junior tennis
player. He received bachelor of arts degrees in philosophy and
English from Amherst College and wrote what would become his first
novel,The Broom of the System,as his senior English
thesis. He received a masters of fine arts from University of
Arizona in 1987 and briefly pursued graduate work in philosophy at
Harvard University. His second novel,Infinite Jest, was
published in 1996. Wallace taught creative writing at Emerson
College, Illinois State University, and Pomona College, and
published the story collectionsGirl with Curious Hair, Brief
Interviews with Hideous Men,andOblivionand the essay
collectionsA Supposedly Fun Thing I''ll Never Do
AgainandConsider the Lobster. He was awarded the
MacArthur Fellowship, a Lannan Literary Award, and a Whiting
Writers'' Award, and was appointed to the Usage Panel forThe
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. He died
in 2008. His last novel,The Pale King,was published in
2011.
About the Book
What is the actual, real-life value of education? In this pointedly
observant examination of daily life, David Foster Wallace seeks an
answer to this deceptively simple question. In doing so, he notes
that, "the most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often
the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about." In other
words, to really understand the world, we have to get out of our
own thoughts and learn to see what's right in front of us. With
this, he touches on the most basic, most important decision we all
make every day--"how" to think about our world.
Writing with his one-of-a-kind blend of casual humor, exacting
intellect, and practical philosophy, David Wallace probes the
challenges of daily living and offers advice that renews us with
every reading.
Format: Hardcover
Published: April 14, 2009
Publisher: Little, Brown And Company
Language: English
The following ISBNs are associated with this title:
ISBN - 10: 0316068225
ISBN - 13: 9780316068222
