How is watching a movie similar to dreaming? What goes on in our minds when we become absorbed in a movie? How does looking “into” a movie screen allow us to experience the thoughts and feelings of a movie’s characters? These and related questions are at the heart of The Power of Movies, a thoughtful, invigorating, and remarkably accessible book about a phenomenon seemingly beyond reach of our understanding. Colin McGinn–“an ingenious philosopher who thinks like a laser and writes like a dream,” according to Steven Pinker–enhances our understanding of both movies and ourselves in this book of rare and refreshing insight.

Providing a fascinating philosophical consideration of the allure of movies, McGinn examines how viewers connect on emotional and intellectual levels with the movies.

“Lively. . . . Illuminating. . . . McGinn has struck gold.” —The Wall Street Journal“Enlightening. . . . Lucid, rewarding.” —The New York Times Book Review“Persuasive. . . .Astute. . . . McGinn synthesizes ideas about seeing movies with the passion of a buff.” —Entertainment Weekly