The essays in *Fictions of a Western Cabinet*, by Marco Lucchesi, take the reader on a journey through the most diverse fields of knowledge and present the thoughts of one of the most expressive intellectuals of his generation. Praised by figures such as Umberto Eco and Baudrillard, this book presents 27 texts on poetry, literature, history, philosophy, and other topics. "In *Fictions of a Western Cabinet*, Lucchesi offers us an erudite book, but also a collection of magnificent stories, a meditation on the relevance of concepts, a confidence about his way of seeing the world, among which lies a sensitive concern for others, for the Other," observes historian and writer Mary Del Priore in the book's foreword. Lucchesi engages in dialogue with thinkers from all eras. In *The History of the Future*, he discusses his intellectual formation and demonstrates his search for freedom. Marx, Le Goff, Antonio Vieira, and others are invited to the debate on the historian's craft and history itself. In "A Machadiana," the author explores the work of Machado de Assis and presents subtle connections between the author's intelligence and richness and the meanings attributed to his work by a wide range of readers, from Augusto Meyer to Clarice Lispector, among many others. "The Earth and Its Crystals" is a conversation that eschews clichés. Álvares de Azevedo, Euclides da Cunha, Guimarães Rosa, Jorge de Lima, and Frei Antônio do Rosário are the interlocutors. In "Poetry and Mathematics," the author introduces the reader to the world of fractal geometry and the beauty of these objects, in addition to presenting the ideas of Leibnitz, Hardy, and Poincaré. He also discusses the relationship between art and mathematics and the cultural perspective of this field of knowledge. With "Fictions of a Western Cabinet," Marcos Lucchesi demonstrates his affinity with the ancient "cabinet men." In bygone eras, they held a prominent place among intellectuals. Coming to dictionary in the late 16th century, the word "cabinet" referred to the study rooms where humanists met. Surrounded by books, rarities of all kinds and a spyglass pointed at the sky, experts in Greco-Latin literature and philosophy fought against obscurantism.
