{ tf1ansiansicpg1252deff0{fonttbl{f0fswissfprq2fcharset0 Arial;}{f1fnilfcharset0 Arial;}} {colortbl ; ed0green0lue0;} viewkind4uc1pardcf1lang1033if0fs20 The Way the World Worksi0 , Nicholson Baker's ranges over the map of life to examine what ails us, what eases our pain, and what gives us joy. Baker-recently hailed as "one of the most consistently enticing writers of our time" by i The New York Timesi0 -moves from political controversy to the intimacy of his own life, from forgotten heroes of pacifism to airplane wings, telephones, paper mills, David Remnick, Joseph Pulitzer, the OED, and the manufacture of the Venetian gondola. In one essay, Baker surveys our fascination with video games while attempting to beat his teenage son at Modern Warfare 2; in a celebrated essay on Wikipedia, he describes his efforts to stem the tide of encyclopedic deletionism. Through all these pieces Baker shines the light of an inexpugnable curiosity; i The Way the World Works i0 is a keen-minded, generous-spirited compendium by a modern American master.cf0lang2057f1 fs18 par cf1lang1033if0fs20 par }