On Further Reflection: 60 Years of Writing

by Jonathan Miller

Actor, doctor, sculptor, TV personality, director of both film and opera―Sir Jonathan Miller's career covers a vast range of artistic endeavors and intellectual pursuits. Common amongst all of these trades, though, is Miller’s exceptional talent for writing about them. Because his work has been published in locations as numerous and diverse as his interests, On Further Reflection is the necessary gathering-together of excerpts from Miller’s best and most memorable pieces from the last six decades, and serves as a staggering indicator of the depth and variety of his preoccupations. The collection features his writing on mesmerism and neurology, art history and drama; it contains thoughts on how we interact with our own bodies, and how television changed in the wake of the Kennedy assassination. For each extract he provides a small introduction, placing the writing in the context of his work in the arts and sciences. Miller casts light on many oft-overlooked aspects of the world, and reminds us with his trademark wit and perception that to this day he is a unique presence on the cultural scene. A celebration of one of our finest minds, On Further Reflection brings together the best of Jonathan Miller for the first time in one collection.

Genres: Essays, Biography

336 pages, Hardcover

First published July 10, 2014

About the author

Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE was a British theatre and opera director, author, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy review Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and performers Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett. Despite having seen few operas and not knowing how to read music, he began stage-directing them in the 1970s and became one of the world's leading opera directors with several classic productions to his credit. His best-known production is probably his 1982 "Mafia"-styled Rigoletto set in 1950s Little Italy, Manhattan. He was also a well-known television personality and familiar public intellectual in the UK and US.

Reviews

[Becky Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent compilation of works from previous publications, bits of script, articles and original writings. Particularly enjoyed the transcript of a conversation with Ernst Gombrich from States of Mind (which I have yet to track down a copy of), the article on a Rudolph Steiner school and the final two essays on the afterlives of theatrical productions and the nature of action. Also about the only book of Miller's that it is possible to read while commuting, without taking out fellow passengers.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A literate and urbane man. But the essays feel a bit dated, and occasional in a less than ideal way—random, a bit tossed together.