¡°Ranging across a wide range of disciplines-the arts, the sciences, popular culture, critical theory-Sousanis argues that the verbal and the visual are inextricably entwined in the production of knowledge¡¦ It is a book that is dense with the syntheses of ideas, nimble, far-reaching and impossible to summarize. It liberates itself from the standard layout of panels within frames, teaching the eye and mind to read the unfailingly intelligent black-and-white artwork in unconventional and new ways. Unflattening deserves a place as a compulsory textbook in schools.¡±-Neel Mukherjee, New Statesman
¡°Unflattening is Nick Sousanis¡¯s meditation on the nature of learning and visual communication¡¦ At a time when graphic literature has become widely accepted as a medium for fiction and memoir, Unflattening breaks new ground in the use of visual narrative for the expression of abstract ideas. Beautifully drawn and brilliantly conceived, Unflattening is an instant classic.¡±-Rob Salkowitz, Forbes
¡°Although the implications are profound, Unflattening is less an insurrection than a carefully argued case for rethinking our priorities about art and learning. Unflattening is above all a humane piece of scholarship which challenges our assumptions about perception.¡±-Matt Finch, Brooklyn Rail
¡°If you prefer your mind-melt, dimension-bending comics with less costumes and melodrama, Nick Sousanis¡¯ cerebral exploration of psychology and perspective offers a refreshing palate cleanser¡¦ Presented with a visual vocabulary that will blow readers minds in the most scholarly way possible.¡±-Sean Edgar, Paste
¡°Frankly, genius.¡±-Zachary Petit, Print
¡°Sousanis¡¯s drawings are first rate and his writing style economical. To demonstrate how introducing new vantage points expands our thinking, he explores a range of philosophical concepts, calling on Plato, Copernicus, and even the ¡®fifth dimension¡¯ explored in the TV series The Twilight Zone.¡±-Jan Gardner, The Boston Globe
¡°Entirely non-narrative, the book takes on the dichotomy between words and images in Western thought and argues that both are simultaneously involved in the production of meaning. Executed in sharp black-and-white diagrams, and abstract and geometric images, this scintillatingly intelligent book succeeds in the great feat of holding the reader¡¯s attention not through a story but through ideas. Sousanis¡¯s own book is the perfect illustration of the inextricability of the verbal and the visual.¡±-Neel Mukherjee, The Independent
¡°Sousanis¡¯ investigation into the connection between word and image could not have been presented in any other way¡¦ [He] presents a philosophical and reference heavy treatise in a compelling and accessible manner.¡±-Don O¡¯Mahony, The Irish Examiner
¡°Sousanis has achieved something powerful-a book that goes beyond just saying a thesis to actually showing one.¡±-Stephen Asma, The Los Angeles Review of Books
¡°An incisive meditation on the relationship between text and images.¡±-David Dabscheck..., The New York Observer
1. Flatness
Interlude: Flatland
2. The Importance of Seeing Double and Then Some
3. The Shape of Our Thoughts
4. Our Bodies in Motion
5. The Fifth Dimension
6. Ruts
Interlude: Strings Attached
7. Vectors
8. Awaking
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Early Sketches