How Shakespeare Changed Everything - Tapa blanda

“How Shakespeare Changed Everything will provide the details and keep you amused while it does. A teacher who makes the class read the book won’t get much backlash from the sourpuss who calls Shakespeare dull and out-of-date.” (Associated Press)

“How Shakespeare Changed Everything is a joyful little book that is a love note to the greatest writer in the English language: never syrupy or over the top, it’s a pleasure to read.” (Bookreporter.com)

“This is a wonderful book about seeing the world through Shakespeare-tinted glasses. You’ll never look at the food court, Justin Beiber—or, for that matter, the English language—the same way again.” (A. J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically)

“How Shakespeare Changed Everything is fun and informative, with more than its share of ‘Aha!’ moments packed between its diminutive covers. Mr. Marche’s thesis is compelling and probably more true than we ever imagined.” (New York Journal of Books)

“A sprightly, erudite sampling of Shakespeare’s influence on absolutely everything.” (National Post)

“An ambitious and entertaining new book...[How Shakespeare Changed Everything] explores the many, often unsuspected ways in which the great playwright shaped just about every facet of contemporary culture.” (Maria Popova, BrainPickings.com)

“In his highly readable, never ponderous, sometimes funny, often insightful new book, [Stephen Marche] credits the Bard with everything from shaping American history (the rise of Obama, the fall of Lincoln) to the very enjoyable sex you had last night.” (Wicked Local)

“Informed, ebullient and profoundly respectful.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“[How Shakespeare Changed Everything] is informative and entertaining.” (Publishers Weekly)

“[A] charming tribute...This highly accessible paean to someone whom Marche describes as “the world’s most powerful writer” serves as yet another reminder of the impact Shakespeare has had on culture worldwide.” (Quill & Quire)

If you look closely, Shakespeare is all around us. From nightclubs and suburban mall food courts to the theatre where Lincoln died, from coffee mugs to shopping bags—William Shakespeare’s literary power is so intense and so widespread that it intrudes into the material world. How Shakespeare Changed Everything, by novelist and esquire columnist Stephen Marche, takes us on a delightful tour through the continuous stream of Shakespeare’s influence on the world stage.

The gifted playwright who moves audiences to laughter and tears has also moved history. Marche summons up the great Bard in the most unexpected places. He explains the political currency of Shakespeare in both democracies and totalitarian regimes; during World War II, Churchill, Hitler and Stalin all appealed to Shakespeare’s works.

Packed with fascinating tidbits, How Shakespeare Changed Everything takes a deep look at how Shakespeare’s spirit permeates our everyday lives, and, more importantly, how the world as we know it would not exist without Shakespeare. Did you know:

• Shakespeare coined somewhere in the vicinity of 1,700 words, including lacklustre, fashionable, auspicious, bandit, glow, hush, dawn, gnarled, hobnob, traditional, and even the name Jessica.
• Abraham Lincoln read Shakespeare aloud as he was sailing up the Potomac days before his death and, through mysterious coincidence, chose Macbeth to recite, the very play in which Shakespeare is believed to have invented the word “assassination.”