The Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano continues his prophetic critique of those who lord it over others and use their power or prestige to punish the downtrodden. In this bold, imaginative, and thought-provoking collection of stories, paradoxes, aphorisms, and riddles he compels us to think afresh about story, soul, mystery, fear, luck, music, and much more. Galeano has collaborated again with Jose Francisco Borges, a Brazilian artist who specializes in woodcuts. The union of these two gifted souls is a double whammy!

On these pages, we were pleased to see two of our favorite quotations from the author. In the first, Galeano writes:

"The Church says: The body is a sin.
"Science says: The body is a machine.
"Advertising says: The body is a business.
"The body says: I am a fiesta."

In the second, we see how important it is to reverence the mystery of life:

"Pilar and Daniel Weinberg's son was baptized on the coast. The baptism taught him what was sacred.
"They gave him a sea shell: 'So you'll learn to love the water.'
"They opened a cage and let a bird go free: 'So you'll learn to love the air.'
"They gave him a geranium: 'So you'll learn to love the earth.'
"And they gave him a little bottle sealed up tight: 'Don't ever, ever open it. So you'll learn to love mystery.' "