Listening to doctors, neuroscientists, acoustical engineers, monks, activists, educators, marketers, and aggrieved citizens, George Prochnik examines why we began to be so loud as a society, what it is that gets lost when we can no longer find quiet, and what are the benefits of decluttering our sonic world.

"From a mindfulness expert and a leadership coach, a book that looks at the science, psychology, philosophy, and spirituality of silence by giving new context to the noise all around us--physical and metaphorical--to change the way we hear and experience the world"--

In a time when technology penetrates our lives in so many ways and materialism exerts such a powerful influence over us, Cardinal Robert Sarah presents a bold book about the strength of silence. The modern world generates so much noise, he says, that seeking moments of silence has become both harder and more necessary than ever before. Silence is the indispensable doorway to the divine, explains the cardinal in this profound conversation with Nicolas...

"A desperately needed wake-up call for a world that demands we keep tweeting, posting, and podcasting that proves the most important thing might be to shut up! By identifying the six types of overtalkers and the six principles to cure our babbling ways, STFU empowers us to become better at nearly every facet of our daily lives and in our most treasured relationships"--

"The first half of this book is a ... wide-ranging yet concise survey of the idea of silence in Christian theology and in the practices of all kinds of Christians through the centuries. In the second half, different kinds of quiet in Christian history come under scrutiny"--Review, Sunday Times (London).