Come viaggiare con un salmone è un libro di istruzioni. Istruzioni sui generis, date da un maestro d'eccezione come Umberto Eco per situazioni molto particolari: come imparare a fare vacanze intelligenti, evitare malattie contagiose, mangiare in aereo, viaggiare con un salmone al seguito, e molto altro. È anche e contemporaneamente un libro di Bustine di Minerva, di riflessioni divertite, stralunate, pungenti, capaci di smascherare l'attualità come solo Eco sa fare. Un volume che affianca ai testi inediti una scelta d'autore di testi del passato, per guidarci nella selva delle nostre giornate dove affrontiamo instancabilmente problemi, ora leggeri ora serissimi.
Umberto Eco was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, a historical mystery combining semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory, as well as Foucault's Pendulum, his 1988 novel which touches on similar themes.
Eco wrote prolifically throughout his life, with his output including children's books, translations from French and English, in addition to a twice-monthly newspaper column "La Bustina di Minerva" (Minerva's Matchbook) in the magazine L'Espresso beginning in 1985, with his last column (a critical appraisal of the Romantic paintings of Francesco Hayez) appearing 27 January 2016. At the time of his death, he was an Emeritus professor at the University of Bologna, where he taught for much of his life. In the 21st century, he has continued to gain recognition for his 1995 essay "Ur-Fascism", where Eco lists fourteen general properties he believes comprise fascist ideologies.