Stafford Beer (1927-2002) was a world-famous Professor of Cybernetics (the science of effective organization & regulation of large complex systems), specialising in holistic management & organisational transformation. His most high profile project was applying these ideas to the Chilean economy under the Socialist President Salvador Allende. Stafford was also a painter & a poet.
In 1980 the bookseller David Whittaker first wrote to Stafford. A lively correspondence ensued & for 20 years they exchanged enthusiasms, books, poems & jokes (as well as polishing off more than a few cases of wine together). In a mutually enhancing friendship, despite the difference in years & academic stature, they both learned through an animated playful dialogue.
About 50 of Stafford’s letters are reproduced here. They show his enormous generosity & receptiveness & this collection will prove of value to anyone interested in some of the lesser known, but revealing, aspects of the mind of a great twentieth-century thinker.
The book also includes a unique interview with the highly influential musician & producer Brian Eno. He talks openly about his own friendship with Beer & how he utilised many cybernetic concepts in his music making.
Paperback, 64 pages, illustrated – £12 + pp
