The Principles of Uncertainty

Maira Kalman paints her highly personal worldview in an inimitable combination of image and text. <br><br> <i>The Principles of Uncertainty</i> is an irresistible invitation to experience life through the psyche of Maira Kalman, one of this country's most beloved artists. The result is a book that is part personal narrative, part documentary, part travelogue, part chapbook, and all Kalman. Her brilliant, whimsical paintings, ideas, and images-which initially appear random-ultimately form an intricately interconnected worldview, an idiosyncratic inner monologue. Kalman contends with some existential questions-What is identity? What is happiness? Why do we fight wars? And then, of course, death, love, and candy (not necessarily in that order) . <br><br> The tremendous success of Kalman's 2005 illustrated edition of Strunk and White's <i>The Elements of Style</i> established her as an original, inspirational voice, and the quirky, hilarious, heartbreaking style of <i>The Principles of Uncertainty</i> reveals Maira Kalman for what she truly is: a national treasure.