Description

Book Synopsis

For over thirty years, besides making music, David Byrne has focused his unique genius upon forms as diverse as the archaeology of music as we know it, architectural photography and the uses of PowerPoint. Now he presents his most personal work to date, a collection of drawings exploring the form of the tree diagram.

Arboretum is an eclectic blend of science, automatic writing, self-analysis and satire. A journey through irrational logic - the application of scientific rigour and form to irrational premises, proceeding from careful nonsense to unexpected sense.

The tree diagram is a form that might reveal more about yourself than you dreamed possible.



Trade Review
PRAISE FOR HOW MUSIC WORKS: It was wildly ambitious to try and turn this galaxy of theory into a readable work of scholarship but Byrne has done it, and done it with style * * Observer * *
Brilliantly original * * New York Times Book Review * *
Extraordinary * * Guardian * *
The finest music book of the year . . . Bursting with a sense of free-flowing curiosity * * Daily Telegraph * *
As well as being an investigation into the context in which music is made, How Music Works is an accomplished celebration of an ever-evolving art form that can alter how we look at ourselves and the world * * Independent * *
Byrne is a crisp and enthusiastic guide * * Sunday Times * *
An entertaining and erudite book . . . this is a serious, straight-forward account of an art form that also manages to be inspiring * * Financial Times * *
As accessible as pop yet able to posit deep and startlingly original thoughts and discoveries in almost every paragraph . . . this book will make you hear music in a different way * * Sunday Telegraph * *
By investigating how music works, Byrne shows us how best it can be used. We are all the richer for his effort * * New Statesman * *
Incisive and intriguing * * Evening Standard * *

Arboretum

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    £17.00

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    RRP £20.00 – you save £3.00 (15%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Thu 25 Jun 2026.

    A Hardback by David Byrne

    3 in stock

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      Publisher: Canongate Books
      Publication Date: 05/12/2019
      ISBN13: 9781786899507, 978-1786899507
      ISBN10: 1786899507

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      For over thirty years, besides making music, David Byrne has focused his unique genius upon forms as diverse as the archaeology of music as we know it, architectural photography and the uses of PowerPoint. Now he presents his most personal work to date, a collection of drawings exploring the form of the tree diagram.

      Arboretum is an eclectic blend of science, automatic writing, self-analysis and satire. A journey through irrational logic - the application of scientific rigour and form to irrational premises, proceeding from careful nonsense to unexpected sense.

      The tree diagram is a form that might reveal more about yourself than you dreamed possible.



      Trade Review
      PRAISE FOR HOW MUSIC WORKS: It was wildly ambitious to try and turn this galaxy of theory into a readable work of scholarship but Byrne has done it, and done it with style * * Observer * *
      Brilliantly original * * New York Times Book Review * *
      Extraordinary * * Guardian * *
      The finest music book of the year . . . Bursting with a sense of free-flowing curiosity * * Daily Telegraph * *
      As well as being an investigation into the context in which music is made, How Music Works is an accomplished celebration of an ever-evolving art form that can alter how we look at ourselves and the world * * Independent * *
      Byrne is a crisp and enthusiastic guide * * Sunday Times * *
      An entertaining and erudite book . . . this is a serious, straight-forward account of an art form that also manages to be inspiring * * Financial Times * *
      As accessible as pop yet able to posit deep and startlingly original thoughts and discoveries in almost every paragraph . . . this book will make you hear music in a different way * * Sunday Telegraph * *
      By investigating how music works, Byrne shows us how best it can be used. We are all the richer for his effort * * New Statesman * *
      Incisive and intriguing * * Evening Standard * *

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