The Principles of Uncertainty

The Principles of Uncertainty is an irresistible invitation to experience life through the psyche of Maira Kalman, one of this country's most beloved artists. Maira Kalman paints her highly personal worldview in an inimitable combination of image and text. Kalman contends with some existential questions-What is identity? What is happiness? Why do we fight wars? And then, of course, death, love, and candy (not necessarily in that order). The tremendous success of Kalman's 2005 illustrated edition of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style established her as an original, inspirational voice, and the quirky, hilarious, heartbreaking style of The Principles of Uncertainty reveals Maira Kalman for what she truly is: a national treasure.. Her brilliant, whimsical paintings, ideas, and images-which initially appear random-ultimately form an intricately interconnected worldview, an idiosyncratic inner monologue. The result is a book that is part personal narrati

The rewards & revelations of uncertainty. This is an irresistibly charming book. The quirky art & the naked perplexity of the author as she confronts life—its tragedies & its mitigating, if bittersweet pleasures--is honest and down-to-earth. Kalman reminds me a lot of Lynda Barry. Neither artist is concerned about looking or sounding profound or sophisticated. They both respond to the world the way we all do when we strip away our pretensions and our intellectualism and admit our ignorance, our fall. One of my all time favorite books I can't believe I didn't review this previously, as I've reviewed other books of Maira's and this may well be my favorite - certainly it was my first of her adult books. When I opened it in the bookstore I was so enchanted I bought it without even checking the price! I only knew I couldn't wait to take it home and I did and then I bought 3 more and have given them to special people who deserve them. Not everyone you know deserves Maira Kalman, certainly not everyo. the author offers us a way to capture fleeting moments of joy in a world where sorrow often lies not far This is an extraordinary book. Through the unusual medium of seemingly simple but powerful pictures and small pithy segments of text, the author offers us a way to capture fleeting moments of joy in a world where sorrow often lies not far beneath the surface. Kalman brings us into her special universe of oddities, the honey cake with which her family celebrates holidays, her oddball box collection, hats people wear, bizarre hairdos. She invites us to make our own

And much like its multi-talented creator--who has illustrated children's books and New Yorker covers and collaborated on fashion projects with Kate Spade and Isaac Mizrahi--her new book, The Principles of Uncertainty, defies easy classification. --Brad Thomas Parsons. Best of the Month, Octhober 2007: In 2005 Maira Kalman brought a fresh vision to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, filling the pages of the reference classic with her whimsical illustrations. Is it philosophy? Art? Memoir? Travel? Sociology? The answer is All of the Above (and more). This charming collection of text, paintings, and photography