The Complete Cosmicomics

n nWe were peering into this darkness, criss-crossed with voices, when the change took place: the only real, great change I've ever happened to witness, and compared to it the rest is nothing. -- from The Complete Cosmicomics n n Italo Calvino's beloved cosmicomics cross planets and traverse galaxies, speed up time or slow it down to the particles of an instant. Through the eyes of an ageless guide named Qfwfq, Calvino explores natural phenomena and tells the story of the origins of the universe. Poignant, fantastical, and wise, these thirty-four dazzling stories -- collected here in one definitive anthology -- relate complex scientific and mathematical concepts to our everyday world. They are an indelible (and unfailingly delightful) literary achievement. n n Nimble and often hilarious . . . Trying to describe such a diverse and entertaining mix, I have to admit, just as Calvino does so often, that my words fail here, too. There's no way I -- or anyone, really -- can muster enough of them to quite capture the magic of these stories . . . Read this book, please. -- Colin Dwyer, NPRn n