First published in America in 1979, The Gift is a modern classic. This inspiring examination of the 'gift economy' is even more relevant now than when it originally appeared. It's a brilliantly argued defence of the place of creativity in our increasingly market-orientated society.
The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World
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"Brilliant... by the time he is done he has folded language, culture and the very habit of being human into his ken." New Yorker "A masterpiece... The Gift is the best book I know of for the aspiring young, for talented but unacknowledged creators, or even for those who have achieved material success and are worried that this means they've sold out." Margaret Atwood "This timely British reissue reminds readers how urgent some of these questions remain, while also allowing them to measure the extent to which matters have changed." Bharat Tandon, TLS "Persuasive and fascinatingly illustrated, The Gift profits immensely from the modesty and unpretentiousness of Hyde's writing and the fascinated good nature with which he expounds his propositions." Tim Martin, Independent on Sunday "The Gift actually deserves the hyperbolic praise that in most blurbs is so empty. It is the sort of book that you remember where you were and even what you were wearing when you first picked it up. The sort that you hector friends about until they read it too. This is not just formulaic blurbspeak; it is the truth. No one who is invested in any kind of art, in questions of what real art does and doesn't have to do with money, spirituality, ego, love, ugliness, sales, politics, morality, marketing, and whatever you call 'value', can read The Gift and remain unchanged." David Foster Wallace"
From the Back Cover
What are the most important gifts in life? What is the value of art in our society? Are we in danger of ignoring our most precious commodity? A brilliantly argued defence of the importance of creativity in our increasingly money-orientated society, The Gift is a modern classic. It is even more relevant now than when it originally appeared twenty years ago. One of the most acclaimed books of the year, beloved by artists, writers and thinkers, The Gift will transform the way you look at the world. 'Buy several copies: one for yourself and the rest for friends interested in, well, anything.' Geoff Dyer 'Hopeful, beautiful and profound. It will change the way you look at everything.' Independent on Sunday 'Tiger balm for tired minds.' Sunday Times CANON#GATE www.canongate.net £8.99 ISBN 978 1 84195 993 1 Cover design (c) Pentagram
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The cover of this edition is a little misleading, with the heart and all the blurbs. The fact is that so many people over the years have stumbled on it, and loved it in a quiet way. The blurbs have been earned along over 20 years, reader by reader. I, for, instance, was assigned to read it in a class at NYU after the teacher said that HE had found it by accident on a remainder table.
Hyde wrote this book as a relatively young man, at the beginning of his career. He was a poet himself, trying to puzzle out the tangle of making emotional and spiritual needs fit the economic needs of existence. He includes some of his own intriguing literary research, but the book does not pretend to be the final word on anything. What it is is simply a thoughtful, academically-thorough writer saying what anyone who believes in art and creativity as a way of life wishes someone would say, with authority. That there is value in what they do, and there is perhaps danger in not doing it.
However, if the times we live in now - the way we have to live and work driven by economics and mass market culture - simply suit you just fine - in that case the book will probably not speak to you at all.
Hyde wrote this book as a relatively young man, at the beginning of his career. He was a poet himself, trying to puzzle out the tangle of making emotional and spiritual needs fit the economic needs of existence. He includes some of his own intriguing literary research, but the book does not pretend to be the final word on anything. What it is is simply a thoughtful, academically-thorough writer saying what anyone who believes in art and creativity as a way of life wishes someone would say, with authority. That there is value in what they do, and there is perhaps danger in not doing it.
However, if the times we live in now - the way we have to live and work driven by economics and mass market culture - simply suit you just fine - in that case the book will probably not speak to you at all.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By M. Salter
Format:Paperback
... but this book has come up in my daily life again and again as I've begun reading it. (NB: I am reviewing as a graduate student studying Painting)
Given to me by a friend (doing his history PhD. at UVA) a couple weeks ago, we recently had a conversation that went something to the effect of "yeah, it's like Hyde takes these things I've given thought to before, but pushes them about 10 steps beyond anywhere I'd have gotten without INTENSIVE research." Like all great cultural artifacts, this book does a ton of legwork to give your thoughts on giving, creativity, and the social purpose of "what we do" a huge push, and really has nudged my brain into a valuable understanding of myself.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not touting this as "self-help" or an "answer" in any way, as it poses as many questions as it does offer possible solutions or reasons for things. And I truly loathe all forms of self-help. But like a film or conversation or piece of artwork, it re-frames and problematizes issues with market economies, the struggle of a creative person in a modern (capitalist) world, and more personally, self-confidence and a faith in what you're doing.
It may help you find ways to be a better person, it may just re-arrange some puzzle pieces, and maybe you're already a savant and will have gotten already out of your life experience what Hyde offers you here, to which I'd simply say "well done." But I don't think the book is a waste of time. The first 80 or so pages are a bit direct, and drag a bit, but as painful as a historical backdrop COULD be, at least he tells a number of interesting stories and fables to keep the need for immediate gratification satiated.
I think the negative reviews I've read here are either from readers unwilling to take the time to properly unpack Hyde's work, or too impatient to relax into it. Further, Hyde is not just a 'quack,' he spends decades researching his material and is a well-respected historian.
It's the first book I've been excited about reading in a long time.
Given to me by a friend (doing his history PhD. at UVA) a couple weeks ago, we recently had a conversation that went something to the effect of "yeah, it's like Hyde takes these things I've given thought to before, but pushes them about 10 steps beyond anywhere I'd have gotten without INTENSIVE research." Like all great cultural artifacts, this book does a ton of legwork to give your thoughts on giving, creativity, and the social purpose of "what we do" a huge push, and really has nudged my brain into a valuable understanding of myself.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not touting this as "self-help" or an "answer" in any way, as it poses as many questions as it does offer possible solutions or reasons for things. And I truly loathe all forms of self-help. But like a film or conversation or piece of artwork, it re-frames and problematizes issues with market economies, the struggle of a creative person in a modern (capitalist) world, and more personally, self-confidence and a faith in what you're doing.
It may help you find ways to be a better person, it may just re-arrange some puzzle pieces, and maybe you're already a savant and will have gotten already out of your life experience what Hyde offers you here, to which I'd simply say "well done." But I don't think the book is a waste of time. The first 80 or so pages are a bit direct, and drag a bit, but as painful as a historical backdrop COULD be, at least he tells a number of interesting stories and fables to keep the need for immediate gratification satiated.
I think the negative reviews I've read here are either from readers unwilling to take the time to properly unpack Hyde's work, or too impatient to relax into it. Further, Hyde is not just a 'quack,' he spends decades researching his material and is a well-respected historian.
It's the first book I've been excited about reading in a long time.
26 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By Stefan Lubo
Format:Hardcover
Originally published in 1979 as The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property and now published in England for the 1st time is a book which in my view is one of the best books - ever! Why, because it speaks directly to you about what makes us tick as human beings, what we do for love and what for money. By studying gift economies in the Pacific which show that gifts link people and commerce separates them and then taking an amazing jump through numerous cultural, spiritual and commercial universes helps give you a coherent view of the world. It then awakens interest in every area of art and human endeavour with wonderful readable prose. This is truly the book to have on your desert island and to give as a gift to everyone you know. Along with Epictetus's "the Art of Living" its all I need.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dull
Dull dull dull. Patronising and sanctimonious tone, dull and then dull again. Although, to be fair I only read a small part of it as life's too short!
Published 3 months ago by Miss R H Jones
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Gift: the Creative Spirit Transforms the World - Lewis Hyde
Bought the book after reading a review in a national newspaper. The book seemed well-used with pencil reference marks alongside the script.
Published 4 months ago by Mrs Jean Ashworth
4.0 out of 5 stars
How Marx was pretty much right... again.
I'm enjoying this alongside novels that I'm reading.
It is a little over-anthropological if it has a fault, but this should not deter one from reading what is an indictment of... Read more
It is a little over-anthropological if it has a fault, but this should not deter one from reading what is an indictment of... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Martin Archer
4.0 out of 5 stars
Perceived success
If you are as fed up a I am about hearing others crow on about their house equity, their fourth night on the champagne, their hyper increased inflated equity on their house and... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Vaarta
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a Gift
WHen I've read it I will leave a review.. but it looks good so far.
Published on 21 Sep 2010 by I. P. Cheneour
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth persevering with
I tried and failed to read this book about a year ago, finding it too academic, too many digressions, etc. However, I picked it up again a few days ago and I'm transfixed. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2010 by Nadine
1.0 out of 5 stars
If you're even half enlightened this book is boring.
When I bought this I bought it as a practicing Pagan and artist (painter) I thought it would enlighten me on some of the issues of creativity. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2009 by M. Hale
3.0 out of 5 stars
Heavy going but has nuggets of insight
This is not a book to read from cover to cover. It is quite academic in it's delivery and although I found several things very interesting, it is somewhat obscure and challenging... Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2009 by M. Ashby
2.0 out of 5 stars
Marketing over content..
Whilst there are some nice ideas about 'gifts' and their cultural meaning, this feels too much like a sub-standard academic paper in much need of editing/rewriting. Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2009 by Simon Kwong
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't get sucked in
I cannot agree with AGLEADER enough (at time of writing this the other 1 star review). I admire them for actually finishing the book - something I have not managed to do despite... Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2008 by P. Wright
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