In this society in which the essential is generally considered incidental (which is reflected in the unbearable dullness of the contemporary man), Catherine David picks the essence from inconspicuous corners where it has been gathering dust and shows us how she uses it to unlock the gates leading to inner beauty. In this remarkable series of 26 linked meditations, The Beauty of Gesture, subtitled "The Invisible keyboard of Piano and T'ai Chi," the French journalist Catherine David explores the analogies between playing the piano and practicing t'ai chi chu'an. A serious pianist and student of martial arts, David draws on a wide familiarity with literary and philosophical texts to evoke the intellectual and spiritual world of her imagination. "A beautiful act is an island of absoluteness in an ocean of chance," she writes, and her essay reminds us that the world vibrates with possibilities, necessities, and poetry for those who can focus attention.