Lost Thought: Leading Thinkers Discuss Lost

by Pearson Moore, Nikki Stafford, Paul Wright

LOST is a question.

It is an intimate, personal question, posed to you. Scholar, fan, student, average Jill or Joe, literary critic or consumer of culture, the question is independent of any title you apply to yourself, any knowledge or wisdom or fascination you might claim to possess, any theory of which you consider yourself proponent.

Is LOST relevant to you as a human being?

Among the 500-plus large-format (8.5” x 11”) pages of LOST Thought University Edition you will find 32 compelling questions posed by two dozen of the world’s leading authorities in literary analysis, film theory, theatre, art, theology, language, and music—as well as the most recognized names in the LOST blogosphere. With fascinating discussions touching on thousands of novel ideas, you will discover new ways of thinking about the thesis, major themes, character arcs, and original concepts given form and substance in one of television’s greatest artistic achievements. LOST confronted some of the most fundamental questions of human existence, arriving at answers never before explored in fiction, using storytelling techniques new to television drama. LOST Thought University Edition brings together the most capable and thoughtful voices in academe and the LOST community to ask the probing, revealing questions that shed light on the essential concepts and provide insightful commentary and analysis available nowhere else.

This University Edition of LOST Thought contains eight new essays, some 74 pages of which have never before been published and cannot be read in any other venue. All told, over 300 pages of material were created exclusively for LOST Thought and are available in no other publication. Edited by Pearson Moore, papers were chosen for the anthology not only on the basis of author expertise, but with a keen eye for diversity of opinion, lively prose, depth of analysis, and broad range and high pertinence density of topics. Every paper presents a thought-provoking array of questions guaranteed to stimulate thought, discussion, debate, and a deep appreciation of the artistry of the series.

Scholar or fan, the Island is our destiny. LOST Thought University Edition will bring greater meaning to that destiny than any other companion book, literary guide, or analytical tool. Twenty-three scholars and authors await on the shores of the Island. Grab a backpack, a water bottle, and your laptop or iPad—and get ready for a fascinating adventure. Namaste!

386 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 25, 2012

About the author

Pearson Moore is the author of "Deneb," the most exciting science fiction epic of the decade. "Deneb" follows dozens of memorable characters thrown into a hostile, alien environment as they scramble to understand the deeply-layered mysteries that control their lives. As they dig into ancient visions and secrets, they discover a web of conspiracies and evil intentions that span 45,000 years of history and call into question the most basic of assumptions about human will, desire, and destiny. With profound allusions to literature old and new, "Deneb" is a story that will stay with readers for years to come.

Moore is the bestselling author of "LOST Humanity," for many years the #1 bestselling companion book to the television series LOST, written in the style that has earned him tens of thousands of followers worldwide. As well as authoring several LOST-related volumes, including "LOST Identity," Pearson has written well-received companion books for both Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad.

With over 100 essays on LOST, read at over 40,000 websites around the world, Moore is recognized as a leading authority on the groundbreaking television series. "LOST Humanity" was the #1 Bestseller in its class for 14 weeks in 2011 and several weeks in 2012. His second book on LOST, "LOST Identity," includes illustrations by renowned LOST artist ArtGUS, and concentrates on the unique characters of LOST. Moore edited the highly regarded "LOST Thought" and "LOST Thought University Edition," now required reading in many college film and drama courses.

Moore has been Featured Writer at SL-Lost.com, the Dark UFO website, Westeros.org, and WinterIsComing.com. In addition to "Game of Thrones Season One Essays" and "Game of Thrones Season Two Essays," he is author of the "Thrones Questions and Comments" series of Game of Thrones books which analyze the television series in the rich, insightful essay format that has become his hallmark.

Pearson Moore writes in several genres, including historical fiction, science fiction, and current events non-fiction. His first novel, "Cartier's Ring," was published in April, 2011. "Cartier's Ring" is the story of the founding of Canada in 1608 as seen from the Aboriginal perspective. Moore has also written "Intolerable Loyalty," a novel set in Québec during the American Revolutionary War, and "Trinity," a science fiction novel treating the emergence of a genetically unique population and its social and political implications.

Reviews

[FunkMaster General · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great, some good, some decent.

Fun to revisit the show.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so fun and interesting to read!

[Jason Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is just an update, not a full review. According to my Kindle, I'm only 31% done with LOST Thoughts. So far, it's been a disappointing, though occasionally entertaining, read. I mainly feel like I'm trudging through the meandering, disorganized, and often trite musings of bloggers and fans, not true analysts. I loved LOST and have been enjoying re-watching it recently as I read through this volume. But most of the book, so far, seems to be more about the authors/bloggers than about LOST. Which is annoying. You have to have really loved LOST to put up with it.


So at this point I would change the title to LOST Opportunity. I'm also growing more and more convinced that, entertaining as LOST was in itself, it really is nothing more than a mirror into which viewers can catch glimpses of themselves. Pearson Moore, for example, offers almost no significant insight into the show but tons of insight into his own psychological baggage. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but the genre is less "media studies" and more autobiography or self-help. So I'm hoping that, as I get more into the academic/scholarly chapters, the writing will grow more insightful. But even the earlier chapter by Cynthia Burkhead -- a professor, apparently -- was pretty weak. I got the feeling she wrote it as a distraction while she was supposed to be doing some dissertation or post doc work or something like that.

I'm also asking for help here. I hope anyone out there can help me understand why or how, according to Sam McPherson's "Funny Red Pictures," ancient Egyptians had anything to do with the Island. Maybe I misunderstood his chapter, but he seemed to be saying that ancient Egypt had some direct involvement with the statues and hieroglyphics on the Island, which struck me as ridiculous and not once implied in LOST. Like, there was other, non-Egyptian symbology as well, but McPherson never says anything about their role on the Island. More proof, I thought, of this volume as little more than self-gratification of the authors.

[some time later . . .]

Still trudging through. The essay on syncretism was good, as was the one on Stoicism in the free-will-vs-destiny debate. The "daddy issues" essay was average, undeveloped. The artistic rendition of motherhood was a joke. I'm in the middle of the Augustinian essay right now, which is gaudy enough to make me run back to Goodreads to talk about how unnecessarily awful some of these chapters are. They are almost as shameful as Pearson Moore's self-description on the Amazon page for this title. Blah.

Finally. I can only recommend this book to LOST fans who don't have anyone else to talk with about the show. Just way too much drivel in here.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an Intellectual tour de force. If you think you were LOST about LOST before your read it , the hundreds of answers here will produce thousands of new questions. It takes so many opposite conclusions and melds them.

What to say about this book?- I loved overall and sometimes did not. I am a die hard LOST fan- and believe it was the best TV series ever. There were ideas and insights in this book , that were genuine WOW moments. Then there was the other stuff. Some of the intellectual analysis was simply unreadable by merely highly educated folks- it was thick and obtuse. Some of the discussion by folks about their experience as bloggers, was at the other end- as in really who cares?

But then their were some of those Goldilocks (as in just right) sections. They provided insights on the Smoke Monster, or connections in LOST that are the stuff of great conversation- things I would like to come back and re- read and re-ponder.Re-visting Christian Shepherd as the real hero- REALLY!!!

So I am attracted and repelle- but much more attracted. I simply do not know who I might recommend this book to. But the parts I loved- I loved

[Tintinrulz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved "LOST Thought: Leading Thinkers Discuss LOST" - edited by Pearson Moore. First the cons: There were some silly, forgettable essays - 'Daddy Issues in Lost' (didn't say anything much - strange given the importance of the theme) and 'The Mother Image in Lost' (IMO feminist, arty clap-trap) and 'Lost As Neo-Baroque' (this one was probably good but for the most part the content went right over my head). Also, there were some spelling and grammar issues at times, but nothing too serious. Now, the pros: The essays cover pretty much everything you can think of concerning LOST. While I didn't always agree with the conclusions of the essays, I enjoyed the majority and found them incredibly thought-provoking, interesting and well-written. I've read over 12 books about the series and read too many online essays to count (many of them by Moore) and this still managed to include quite a bit of material I'd never before encountered. An excellent, academic look at LOST, but not one for casual fans. 9/10

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The collection of essays in this book edited by Pearson Moore provides a thoughtful philosophical discourse on most of the themes, mythology and characters of LOST. In my opinion LOST was the greatest show to ever appear on television and one reason for that is the scholarly nature it seemed to bring to the screen. The essay writers discuss much of this. The topic of whether LOST was postmodern or in fact argued against postmodernism was one topic particularly fascinating. Also,it contains a fair amount of discussion of plot mysteries in the show that diehard fans will enjoy.