Who is not afraid of death? Every generation struggles with the knowledge of its own eventual finality. Every body, no matter how great a mind it contained, returns to the soil in relative obscurity. More than ever, in a society filled with carcinogens, cars, pollutants, and viruses that spread like an electrical shock from continent to continent, the pressure is on to escape mortality.

Mr. Stavans suggests that writing literature can put one “in the pantheon of the future,” as an immortal name on a book. Take Shakespeare: for centuries, his works have been discussed, debated, and appreciated. To leave behind work so lasting is the dream of anyone who sends his transcript to a publisher.

However, the blessing and the curse of the modern age is that just about anyone, remarkable or otherwise, can write a book. Now authors face a new kind of obscurity: their escape from the namelessness and confusion of the soil is the namelessness and confusion of a crowded bookstore. The challenge is no longer to write, but to write something Shakespearean, so fantastic that it will appeal differently than all the other paperbacks.

A more effective escape from death is to invent something life-altering. The Wright brothers’ legacy is a trip from New York to Hong Kong on the back of clouds and over just 15 hours. Edison’s brilliance glows from every bulb and electric toaster.

The most accessible escape from mortality is to influence people in one’s own life. Inspiring a child to be the next great biochemist, building a home for a poor family, planting an apple tree for a schoolyard nearby, helping a new neighbor get used to town – these are all simple ways to change the world.

Actions speak louder than words, after all. Perhaps they live longer, too.