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The Gift

How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World

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The Gift

By: Lewis Hyde
Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
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About this listen

A modern classic cherished by many of the greatest artists of our time, The Gift is a brilliant, life-changing defense of the value of creative labor.

Drawing on examples from folklore and literature, history and tribal customs, economics and modern copyright law, Lewis Hyde demonstrates how our society - governed by the marketplace - is poorly equipped to determine the worth of artists’ work. He shows us that another way is possible: the alternative economy of the gift, which allows creations and ideas to circulate freely, rather than hoarding them as commodities.

Illuminating and transformative, The Gift is a triumph of originality and insight - an essential audiobook for anyone who has ever given or received a work of art.

©1983 by W. Lewis Hyde. Preface © 2019 by W. Lewis Hyde. Afterword © 2007 by W. Lewis Hyde (P)2022 by Blackstone Publishing
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What listeners say about The Gift

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a great reminder

Reread this book via Audible and it felt easier to absorb. Such a great reminder of where we are and where were going. Translates beyond arts to Non-Profits and other service orgs too.

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The performance of the reading is very good.

The main thesis on the gift economy is superb. Even more so as we are awash in the crass money driven values of the social media economy.

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Revised edition of an already vast treatment

This was a deep dive into a very narrow and focused topic, and if you want to think more intentionally about the value of your work as well as any labor you put into passion projects of any kind… this is for you.

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A 2 hour book crammed into 13.5 hours.

The first hour of this book was interesting. The last chapter was a good recap. The middle 11.5 hours was a painfully belabored treatise on poetic inspiration. I got to a point that I thought to myself "If he mentions or quotes Whitman one more time I am going to kill myself". Don't waste your time.

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