Umberto Eco, an Italian scholar and author of best-selling novels, notably The Name of the Rose, died on Friday at his home in Milan, Italy. He was 84.
As a semiotician – one who studies signs and symbols and how they are used – Mr. Eco sought to interpret cultures and his scholarly studies were infused into his fiction writing.
Umberto Eco joined us on The Book Show in 2012 to discuss his then most-recent novel, The Prague Cemetery – a work that was denounced by the Vatican. We air a portion of that conversation in memoriam today.