Where and why did the desire for cataloging and systematization appear in world culture? Is there a connection between medieval bestiaries, Bosch paintings and Andy Warhol compositions? Look for answers in Umberto Eco's new book. In his book, Umberto Eco talks about the desire of Western culture to systematize, build rows, and compile lists: these can be host of saints, ranks of soldiers, catalogs of outlandish creatures or healing herbs, lists of treasures, or a 20th-century fashion show from music hall to high fashion catwalks. A culture convinced of its own power and significance favors completed, stable forms; if she has to face the chaos of disparate phenomena and try to find a common criterion for them, she begins to compile lists of events, facts, symbols, ornaments and signs. It is the desire of world culture for ordering that becomes the subject of research by Umberto Eco, a brilliant writer and thinker of our time. As in the books "History of Beauty" and "History of Ugliness," which instantly became world bestsellers, Eco's story is supplemented by a literary anthology and extensive illustrative material that confirm and develop the author's thought.