J.G. Ballard (Re-Search 8/9) [Paperback]

V. Vale (Author)

Book Description

Series: Re-Search 8/9 | Publication Date: June 1, 1984

This is the most comprehensive introduction to this visionary writer, the William Burroughs of England. J.G. Ballard finally achieved world recognition when Steven Spielberg filmed his autobiography (childhood til age 15) in Empire of the Sun. But Ballard has been a visionary iconoclast since the 50s, beginning with his trilogy of disaster novels, The Burning World, The Drowned World, and The Crystal World, and most notoriously, his automobile death-wish classic, Crash, about the psychopathology of the car crash. He predicted Ronald Reagan as president 15 years before it happened! This volume contains long interviews, including one by soundtrack composer/SPK founder Graeme Revell, stories, a biography, bibliography, and many provocative quotations. Ballard is possibly the most futuristic philosopher of the 20th century.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Highly acclaimed as a science fiction writer, J.G. Ballard far transcends that label. Ballard has delineated an updated mythology and philosophy coherent for our times, ranging from his investigation of the psychosexual significance of the car crash (in Crash) to the barbarism latent in a new vertical condominium (High-Rise). In this strikingly illustrated volume, encompassing interviews and a wealth of rare selections from every aspect of Ballards's career, introduce yourself to the advanced thinking of a major contemporary writer.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

J.G. BALLARD #8/9 J.G. Ballard has initiated a dazzling scope of clearly relevant attitudes, analysis, ideas and scenarios. His forward-looking philosophy embodies a comprehensive understanding of how the instant mass media (with their stylized fabrications of "news events," "news figures," and "lifestyles") have changed everything that signifies "meaning" in our lives. He has extrapolated upon the effects of widespread home computers and video recorders on our identities and personal histories. He is concerned with how we are going to change.

J.G. Ballard's work destroys the barriers between science and art; advertising and literature; politics and pop culture; ecological catastrophe and the Space Age; television and the new styles of sociopathic conformism; et al. He has identified and imaginatively expanded upon the new mythologies and symbolism of the imminent future. Sex, technology, advertising, this dying planet, increasingly innovative pathological behavior, the parallel world of the lives and deaths of famous celebrities-all intermingle in Ballard's cool explications of what is really going on.

The characters in Ballard's scenarios exemplify the problems of achieving a unique identity in a mass culture world-often through madness or crime, always through the elaboration of obsession. In an age of cliched cynicism, these characters possess ideals which they strive to fulfill, however strangely. Consistently, Ballard's writing reflects one central investigation: of the meaning of freedom in a world obsessed with control and obedience to the past . . .

Freedom, for Ballard, is synonymous with the imagination. And it is no accident that he acknowledges Surrealism, with its emphasis on the unconscious and the importance of dreams, as a major influence: "I am interested in the Surrealists altogether, because I am a great believer in the need of imagination to transform everything, otherwise we'll have to take the world as we find it, and I don't think we should. We should re-make the world."

At a time when nobody believes that the future will be "better," it's definitely time to understand why . . . and how we got that way.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Re/Search Publications; 2nd edition (June 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965046974
• ISBN-13: 978-0965046978
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,838,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive Ballard Resource . . . though dated..., April 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: J.G. Ballard (Re-Search 8/9) (Paperback)

This Re/Search volume includes a comprehensive bibliography and numerous interviews with Ballard, most done during the 80's. I was amazed to see an 80's interview with ballard by Grahme Ravell, who has come into fame in his own right since then. Re/Search Ballard also has numerous excerpts as well as The Atrocity Exibition in full. The volume is filled with intriguing Ballard quotes, photos and other Ballard miscellany that would surely be difficult or impossible to find anywhere else. Well packaged, informative and useful. For the Ballard fan, not the new reader.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vision, March 13, 2005

By 

King B (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: J.G. Ballard (Re-Search 8/9) (Paperback)

Buy this book and read a few pages every morning. Your days will be better because if it. The man has vision, and reading his words can help you focus your own. Great book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Introduction, January 20, 2003

By 

Toby Levin (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: J.G. Ballard (Re-Search 8/9) (Paperback)

This book is an amazing introduction to the works of a man with great thoughts. The introductory interview contains almost too much information and opinions; it is hard to wrap your mind around. But for those of you up to the challenge, it is great reading. Ballard's fiction and non-fiction excerpts are all enticing and the biography is very interesting, giving justice to the very exciting life Ballard has lived. An excellent read for anyone interested in finding a new author, or for those who simply want to read more of Ballard's works.