A dazzling meditation on the philosophical, scientific, and historical roots of attention, an attempt to pin down this elusive state of being. To write a book in which every sentence is a first sentence. To write a book in which every sentence is as good as the first sentence. READ THE SMALL FONT FIRST. “To live as if every day were your first,” “to live as if every day were your last”— conditionally. READ THE LARGE FONT LAST. To begin with sex. DO NOT BE DISTRACTED. To begin with loss. DO NOT BE DIVERTED. To begin with death. THERE IS NOTHING TO READ HERE. To begin with the end. YOU ARE STILL WASTING YOUR TIME.