"This book mounts a strong argument for silence, arguing that we need more rather than less of it in our lives. The alternative is an environment scarred even further by noise, so often the forgotten pollutant. Stuart Sim explores why silence matters, where it matters - in religion, health, the arts, thought - and why we'll suffer if space is not made for it. The confrontation between the politics of noise and the politics of silence is an issue on which we cannot stay neutral. A defence of silence is a defence of our humanity, as well as of a beleaguered environment."--Jacket.