This collection seems a bit eccentric when considered as a whole, on account of the different topics covered and the different audiences and tones for which the essays were written. They are unified by the spark of clarified brilliance that defines Eco's writing, which is precise and incisive.
Though it seems absurd to select favorites from a pool of only five, Ur-Fascism stands out as a blend of personal experience, political and historical analysis, and theoretical distillation of what fascism means as a term and how it functions. On the Press also feels relevant as a discussion of where the media is as an industry and where it is going. Although this essay is limited to a specifically Italian scope, the principles are widely applicable--and in 1995, Eco predicted the limitations of a self-selected news source like the algorithm-based feeds available to us today. The other three are gems as well. ( )

We shall not get out of this circle until it is decided that when exceptional events occur, humanity cannot afford to apply the laws currently in force, but must shoulder the responsibility of sanctioning new ones.

Five Moral Pieces is another collection of Eco's essays and lectures, these are from the 1990s and as suggested by the title refer to plotting a moral course in a world revising its codes and transmitting mediums. The first few weren't encouraging, focusing o a new virtual definition f war and whether it was possible to for the godless to be good. Interesting as always, my spirits were not encouraged until the final two essays: Ur-Fascism and Migration, Tolerance and the Intolerable. Both appear to a response to our daily headlines and the clamor for expulsion from Charlotte to Hamburg. ( )

A timely read, even twenty years later. ( )

A decent read, for a collection of five disconnected essays. The piece on Ur-Fascism is definitely worthwhile, as are the ones on the press (even if Italian-focused, the themes resonant to modern American media) and tolerance & the intolerable. I didn't care for the essay on war; it was too abstract and removed from reality. ( )

Although I don't quite agree with some material with which he predicates his arguments (mostly picky historical bits that I have a tendency to give excessive importance or centrality), I like what Eco wants to do (namely, reflect on 'what it means to be moral or ethical when one doesn't believe in God') and am excited to finish this book and hear his conclusions. ( )