In a field which has been deluged for years by analyses that are weighed down with jargon and abtruse theorising (and therefore only of interest to other academics), Dr. Bignell's book offers a clear introduction to the ideas of media semiotics. It is intended for use by 1st year university students, but could equally well be used as a general introduction at 6th form, or for the lay reader. It is written in a clear, precise style, and though it covers all the major theories to have emerged in the last decades concerning the analysis of the media (linguistic philosophy, marxism, structuralism, feminism, deconstruction), Bignell's use of everyday examples drawn from popular drama and advertising illuminates even the most difficult point.