Object Lessons is a series of short beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of
ordinary things. When you are born the first thing you do is scream. Be it a response to fear
anger sadness or happiness the scream is a declaration of being alive. The metal vocalist
cupping the microphone blares out a deafeningly harsh scream. The drill instructor screams out
commands to their soldiers. And then there's the bloodcurdling screams we know from horror
films. A scream has many meanings but it is an instinctive and reflexive action that at its
core reveals raw emotion. Investigating popular and alternative cultures art and science
Michael J. Seidlinger tracks the resonance of the scream across media and literature and in his
own voice. Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.
