Dear Aeon reader,
It’s always a pleasure to be directly in touch with you, and this time it’s because we’re celebrating some really special Aeon Essays from the archive. It’s a pretty good bet that most of you are readers of books. We Aeon editors certainly are, though (like most of you I suspect) we wish we had more time for reading them! We like to think that our Essays are a kind of ‘mini-book’ experience: well-written, elegantly paced, and with significant ideas at their heart.
This week’s Essays are especially connected to the world of books because one way or another they have led to their author publishing a book on the same topic. Some are very direct: an agent read the Essay, loved it and soon enough had a publishing contract for the author. That’s a thrill for us, especially when it’s a first book. Sometimes their Aeon Essay has been part of a longer process of ‘thinking aloud’ in public over the ideas that eventually became the book. In every case there’s something about these Essays that really sings – lyrical personal writing; a surprising take on an important thinker, or a jaunty bit of mythbusting. Hats-off to our thoughtful, original and hardworking writers! And I hope you enjoy this celebration of their work, and the ecosystem of knowledge that uplifts Aeon as a magazine.
– Brigid Hains, Editorial Director
