This historical, literary, and philosophical study transforms our understanding of reading. "Powers of Reading is a patient, brilliant, and illuminating inquiry into the crosscurrents of voice and address, one that speaks to the speed and complexity of our time, how we are upended by our forward propulsions, to consider how multiple voice, action, and passivity are all rearranged in the scene of reading. - Judith Butler, Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley II.