{"product_id":"zero-decibels-the-quest-for-absolute-silence","title":"Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute Silence","description":"\u003cp\u003eHave our noise-soaked lives driven us mad? And is absolute silence an impossible goalor the one thing that can save us? A lively tale of one mans quest to find the grail of total quiet.---   I dont know at what point noise became intolerable for me  George Michelsen Foy writes as he recalls standing on a subway platform in Manhattan  hands clamped firmly over his ears  face contorted in pain. But only then does Foy realize how overwhelmed he is by the citys noise and vow to seek out absolute silence  if such an absence of sound can be discovered.  Foy begins his quest by carrying a pocket-sized decibel meter to measure sound levels in the areas he frequents mostthe subway  the local caf  different rooms of his apartmentas well as the places he visits that inform his search  including the Parisian catacombs  Joseph Pulitzers silent vault  the snowy expanses of the Berkshires  and a giant nickel mine in Canada  where he travels more than a mile underground to escape all human-made sound. Along the way  Foy experiments with noise-canceling headphones  floatation tanks  and silent meditation before he finally tackles a Minnesota laboratorys anechoic chamber that the Guinness Book of World Records calls the quietest place on earth  and where no one has ever endured even forty-five minutes alone in its pitch-black interior before finding the silence intolerable.  Drawing on history  science  journalistic reportage  philosophy  religion  and personal memory  as well as conversations with experts in various fields whom he meets during his odyssey  Foy finds answers to his questions: How does one define silence? Did human beings ever experience silence in their early history? What is the relationship between noise and space? What are the implications of silence and our need for itphysically  mentally  emotionally  politically? Does absolute silence  actually exist? If so  do we really want to hear it? And if we do hear it  what does it mean to us?  According to the Environmental Protection Agency  30 million Americans suffer from environment-related deafness in todays digital age of pervasive sound and sensory overload. Roughly the same number suffer from tinnitus  a condition  also environmentally related  that makes silence impossible in even the quietest places. In this respect  Foys quest for silence represents more than a simple psychological inquiry; both his queries and his findings help to answer the question How can we live saner  healthier lives today?  Innovative  perceptive  and delightfully written  Zero Decibels will surely change how we perceive and appreciate the soundscape of our lives.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44984181686325,"sku":"ByrdShop_1416599592","price":62.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781416599593.jpg?v=1770825743","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/zero-decibels-the-quest-for-absolute-silence","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}