Considering present-day phenomena, from the immediacy effects of literature to hypercommunication, globaliaztion, and sports, Hans Urich Gumbrecht notes an important shift in our relationship to history and time. Gumbrecht draws on his mastery of the philosophy of language to enrich his everyday observations, traveling to Disneyland, a small town in Louisiana, and the center of Vienna to produce striking sketches of our broad presence in the world.