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"...the most brilliant marketing mind of all belonged to Marshall McLuhan. Understanding Media is a timeless analysis of how language, speech and technology shape human behavior in the era of mass communication. The book is a cautionary tale for marketers today who hear the Web's siren call and ignore the power of the spoken word." Wall Street Journal
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with a new introduction by Lewis H. Lapham This reissue of Understanding Media marks the thirtieth anniversary (1964-1994) of Marshall McLuhan's classic expose on the state of the then emerging phenomenon of mass media. Terms and phrases such as "the global village" and "the medium is the message" are now part of the lexicon, and McLuhan's theories continue to challenge our sensibilities and our assumptions about how and what we communicate.There has been a notable resurgence of interest in McLuhan's work in the last few years, fueled by the recent and continuing conjunctions between the cable companies and the regional phone companies, the appearance of magazines such as WiRed, and the development of new media models and information ecologies, many of which were spawned from MIT's Media Lab. In effect, media now begs to be redefined. In a new introduction to this edition of Understanding Media, Harper's editor Lewis Lapham reevaluates McLuhan's work in the light of the technological as well as the political and social changes that have occurred in the last part of this century.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this book in a second-hand bookstore for under one dollar. Had never heard of it, had never heard of him but I am fascinated by the media, specifically advertising. I wore this book out and replaced it with the new edition from MIT Press. I love this book. I still can't understand it in places (this makes me study it even more to try and understand where he is coming from) but it definitely changed the way I view the media and my place within it. We are definitely beyond being influenced by the media; the media has become the ground from which we operate.
The book is challenging and it is scattered and chaotic but there is a cohesiveness to it. I suppose that style of writing was supposed to be symbolic of the way the world is (or is becoming). This book will help you to regain your ability to reintegrate yourself with the real world and stop living life as if you have "autoamputated" your true self only to watch it live on television.
While many of the analogies are "out there," most are poignant and relevent. One example is McLuhan's interpretation of the Narcissus myth from Greek mythology. Narcissus did not fall in love with his own reflection. Narcissus had no idea that the reflection he saw was himself; he thought that what he saw was something other than himself. He became transfixed by the image; it was not love, it was numbness. The television screen is our reflection; we are not separate from it -- it is merely what is inside of us extended to the outside for us to look at, thus the subtitle, The Extensions of Man. We have become Narcissus; the media is the reflection we see and, instead of falling in love with the reflection, we have become numb, forgetting (or not aware) that what we are seeing is really us. Tell me that is not relevant today.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is the most profound statement of McLuhan's theories, filled with memorable quotes and odd ideas. Sometimes, however, the ideas are inadequately supported, and the narrative is organized very oddly. (It's all part of his "mosaic" method of understanding.) However, this is probably the easiest of McLuhan's books to digest, and many of his statements are very relevant to our modern lifestyle. Buy the book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am italian and I read all McLuhan's books in italian language. I got a degree in Theoretical Philosophy in december 1998, about "McLuhan's problems about process and pragmatism". I think McLuhan's work is a prophetic work, and I love it because it is an incredible example of work in progress. I think we can't read McLuhan's books as if they were a finished study, but as if they were an invite to understand unusually our world and our way of life. In my study I wrote about a pragmatistic and esthethic underground of McLuhan's work. McLuhan's lovers: write me your opinion.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very goood
I found this book in an excellent condition! Brand new! Mc luhan is a well known author, so no words needed to describe it.
Published 4 months ago by gerasimosdap
McLUHAN IS STILL "FAR-OUT MAN"
Since the advent of civilization, humans have been evolving themselves through technology: foot into wheel, skin into clothing, teeth into weapons, and finally, our nervous system... Read more
Published on 29 Mar 1998
Big Brother is Dead.
McLuhan kills Big Brother on the last page of this book.
Unfortunately, McLuhan is not really a very good writer. Read more
Unfortunately, McLuhan is not really a very good writer. Read more
Published on 17 Dec 1996
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