In Miniature, Simon Garfield
In Miniature, Simon Garfield
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In Miniature

Author: Simon Garfield

Narrator: Adrian Scarborough

Unabridged: 7 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/12/2019


Synopsis

Bestselling, award-winning writer Simon Garfield returns with an enthralling investigation of humans’ peculiar fascination with small things—and what small things tell us about our larger world.

“[Simon Garfield is] an exuberant truffle-hound of the recondite and delightful factoid.” —Sunday Times (London)

Simon Garfield writes books that shine a light on aspects of the everyday world in order to reveal the charms and eccentricities hiding in plain sight around us. After beguiling fans with books about everything from typography to time, from historic maps to the color mauve, he’s found his most delightful topic yet: miniatures.

Tiny Eiffel Towers. Platoons of brave toy soldiers. A doll’s house created for a Queen. Diminutive crime scenes crafted to catch a killer. Model villages and miniscule railways. These are just a few of the objects you will discover in the pages of In Miniature.

Bringing together history, psychology, art, and obsession, Garfield explores what fuels the strong appeal of miniature objects among collectors, modelers, and fans. The toys we enjoy as children invest us with a rare power at a young age, conferring on us a taste of adult-sized authority. For some, the desire to play with small things becomes a desire to make small things. We live in a vast and uncertain world, and controlling just a tiny, scaled-down part of it restores our sense of order and worth.

As it explores flea circuses, microscopic food, ancient tombs, and the Vegas Strip, In Miniature changes the way we perceive our surroundings, encouraging all of us to find greatness in the smallest of things.

About Simon Garfield

Simon Garfield is the author of eighteen acclaimed books of nonfiction including Timekeepers, To the Letter, On the Map, and Just My Type. A recipient of the Somerset Maugham prize for nonfiction, he lives in London.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tracey Allen on February 01, 2019

Miniatures always inspire awe and wonder and Simon Garfield has turned his sharp focus on the world of miniatures in his latest offering In Miniature - How Small Things Illuminate the World. I've always admired the workmanship of modellers and creators of miniatures, whether they be doll houses, matc......more

Goodreads review by Georgie’s on August 09, 2019

*kindly gifted to me by Canongate* This book is fascinating- not one I’d necessarily pick up if I was in a bookshop, but I think that’s the beauty of gifted books and you can discover some real gems. I had just finished reading The Miniaturist when I got asked if I wanted to try it so perfect timing!......more

Goodreads review by pea. on February 27, 2024

parts were of interest parts sparked interest parts needed interest parts were only of interest to the authors opinion parts should have been parts of another book parts I may have slept thru plenty pages with folded down corners, which means I have to open the book up again. partly was hoping I would......more