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1raquetteur's review
5.0
Brillant et ludique. Les réflexions de McLuhan sont toujours pertinentes 60 ans plus tard.
"In the name of "progress",
Our official culture is striving
To force the new media to do
The work of the old."
"In the name of "progress",
Our official culture is striving
To force the new media to do
The work of the old."
rebcamuse's review
4.0
It is difficult to remember that this book was first published in 1967, as the message of the "massage" is as relevant today as it was then. The use of images to make its point should not detract from the prose, even though it is minimal. McLuhan's "allatonceness" and "global village" take on new resonance in the Internet age. Where it diverges is in thinking we privilege acoustic space--I don't believe that is true. I think we are still largely beholden to the visual, and when in 1967 McLuhan writes:
we know that he could not have foreseen social media. But as many have noted, much of what McLuhan says holds up in our age.
This edition is wonderful and beautifully produced, from the Shepard Fairey cover (probably the most apt choice), to the self-referential New Yorker cartoon on the last page. It is both a (brief) history of media, and a harbinger of the future. Quentin Fiore's contributions are stunning, particularly in retrospect, and seem far less counter-culture now than they did in the 1960s. The use of visual images, creative typesetting, and lack of regular pagination help drive home McLuhan's point in this "inventory of effects." We get pulled into the "electrically-configured whirl" no less now than we did then, even if the medium has changed. One wonders if we aren't still "march[ing] backwards into the future." Media continue to be "extensions of some human faculty"--and in that, we see both the frailty and fecundity of our ideas.
At the high speeds of electric communication, purely visual means of apprehending the world are no longer possible; they are just too slow to be relevant or effective.
we know that he could not have foreseen social media. But as many have noted, much of what McLuhan says holds up in our age.
This edition is wonderful and beautifully produced, from the Shepard Fairey cover (probably the most apt choice), to the self-referential New Yorker cartoon on the last page. It is both a (brief) history of media, and a harbinger of the future. Quentin Fiore's contributions are stunning, particularly in retrospect, and seem far less counter-culture now than they did in the 1960s. The use of visual images, creative typesetting, and lack of regular pagination help drive home McLuhan's point in this "inventory of effects." We get pulled into the "electrically-configured whirl" no less now than we did then, even if the medium has changed. One wonders if we aren't still "march[ing] backwards into the future." Media continue to be "extensions of some human faculty"--and in that, we see both the frailty and fecundity of our ideas.
lizzderr's review
3.0
Largely fascinating and incredibly prescient at points; occasionally overstates its case in wild ways.
jedwardsusc's review against another edition
3.0
McLuhan's scholarship may be more style than substance, but the style of this book is pretty amazing--an almost perfect anticipation of hypertext.
kellsinki's review
2.0
Definitely a unique read. The rating is because I am not completely sure I understood the message it was trying to convey. Will read again in the future to make sense of it.
hyperpoints's review
5.0
i'm not sure if i actually read this or not. i downloaded a weird ebook version from archive.org which may or may not have been the book in question and read it on my ereader. a lot of the images were kind of melted and weird although that may have been the original intention. i will probably track down a physical copy sometime soon and compare. definitely ahead of its time still
you know, it's kind of interesting, we covered this book in a communications course when I was back at university, back when I didn't know how to remember things... was definitely worth revisiting, I'm going to check out some of mcluhans other writing. I'm kind of disappointed I didn't re-read this sooner, it would have saved me a lot of trouble. also I'm not sure if the title is a typo and it's kind of killing me but based on the book's content i'm not sure if it matters
anyways, a8ap8yh3ha8hawe n a3r09ah bawuaehi8 ajaep883eeph awe8ugp89gatwa
you know, it's kind of interesting, we covered this book in a communications course when I was back at university, back when I didn't know how to remember things... was definitely worth revisiting, I'm going to check out some of mcluhans other writing. I'm kind of disappointed I didn't re-read this sooner, it would have saved me a lot of trouble. also I'm not sure if the title is a typo and it's kind of killing me but based on the book's content i'm not sure if it matters
anyways, a8ap8yh3ha8hawe n a3r09ah bawuaehi8 ajaep883eeph awe8ugp89gatwa
mnboyer's review
3.0
PopSugar 2019 reading challenge #46
Theory.
Theory.
Theory.
Theory.
It is one of the "key" readings in the LIS field, I am told, or within Media Studies. It was interesting, but the format is 'different' and in some ways that is great, in others, not so much. Unique arguments. Really loved the piece about the alphabet all being theory (as... it is).
Theory.
Theory.
Theory.
Theory.
It is one of the "key" readings in the LIS field, I am told, or within Media Studies. It was interesting, but the format is 'different' and in some ways that is great, in others, not so much. Unique arguments. Really loved the piece about the alphabet all being theory (as... it is).