The Essential Mcluhan (Paperback)

~ Eric Mcluhan (Author), Frank Zingrone (Author), Marshall Mcluhan (Editor) "A few months ago an American army officer wrote for Printer's Ink from Italy..." (more)
Key Phrases: phonetic literacy, doctus orator, electric media, King Lear, New York, James Joyce (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Given the profound influence that the writings and teachings of Marshall McLuhan have had in the Information Age, it is surprising how few people have read anything more than context-free excerpts printed in indecipherable day-glo fonts over a background guaranteed to induce vertigo. But once you actually get around to reading McLuhan's ideas about the Global Village, the history of print, and the rise of digital media, you realize that behind the hype he did indeed make many substantive and influential contributions.

Surprisingly, most of McLuhan's seminal books are still out of print (as of 1996). Luckily, this collection of articles and excerpts from his most important books is a comprehensive and accessible overview of the musings of the "Patron Saint of the Digerati". It includes substantial passages from my favorite McLuhan book The Gutenberg Galaxy (a brilliantly provocative academic treatise about the history and consequences of writing and printing), as well as many articles and interviews you wouldn't find in any of his previously published books anyway.

The main weaknesses of this volume are that it does not include excerpts from the hyper-kinetic and image-packed "The Medium is the Massage" -- his main contribution to pop culture of the late '60s -- and that the sources of each passage are noted only in an appendix. It would have been nice if sources were noted at the beginning or end of each linear text, and I hope this is addressed in future editions. Other than these minor editorial quibbles, this book is highly recommended.

Product Description

Marshall McLuhan’s insights are fresher and more applicable today than when he first announced them to a startled world. A whole new generation is turning to his work to understand a global village made real by the information superhighway and the overwhelming challenge of electronic transformation.“Before anyone could perceive the electric form of the information revolution, McLuhan was publishing brilliant explanations of the perceptual changes being experienced by the users of mass media. He seemed futuristic to some and an enemy of print and literacy to others. He was, in reality, a deeply literate man of astonishing prescience. Tom Wolfe suggested aloud that McLuhan’s work was as important culturally as that of Darwin or Freud. Agreement and scoffing ensued. Increasingly Wolfe’s wonder seems justified.”From the IntroductionHere in one volume, are McLuhan’s key ideas, drawn from his books, articles, correspondence, and published speeches. This book is the essential archive of his constantly surprising vision.

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Product Details Paperback: 416 pages Publisher: Basic Books; 1st edition (July 11, 1996) Language: English ISBN-10: 0465019951 ISBN-13: 978-0465019953 Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #162,842 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Marshall McLuhan

Eric McLuhan

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
A few months ago an American army officer wrote for Printer's Ink from Italy. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
phonetic literacy, doctus orator, electric media, literate values, tribal man, electric age, electric technology, mechanical culture, electric information, new cliché, electric circuitry, electric conditions, electric process, mechanical bride, electric world, sensory life, visual bias, auditory imagination, acoustic space, hot medium, electric speed

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
King Lear, New York, James Joyce, United States, Wyndham Lewis, Finnegans Wake, Harold Innis, Lewis Carroll, Sherlock Holmes, Don Quixote, Henry Ford, Soviet Union, The Bias of Communication, Bertrand Russell, Edgar Poe, Milton's Hell, North America, The Russians, General Motors, Jacques Ellul, Milman Parry, The Circus, The Silent Language, Alexander Pope, Anatomy of Criticism

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 100 books:

• Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan on 8 pages
• The Bias of Communication, Second Edition by Harold A. Innis on 7 pages
• The Mechanical Bride by Herbert Marshall McLuhan on 6 pages
• Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation (v. 6) by E.H. Gombrich on 5 pages
• Science and the Modern World by Alfred North Whitehead on 4 pages

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60 books cite this book:

• Radio Drama by Tim Crook on 5 pages
• McLuhan in Space: A Cultural Geography by Richard Cavell on 5 pages
• The Ultimate Training Workshop Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Leading Successful Workshops and Training Programs by Bruce Klatt on page 288, and Back Matter
• Sight, Sound, Motion: Applied Media Aesthetics by Herbert Zettl on page 15, and Back Matter
• Electronic Books and ePublishing: A Practical Guide for Authors by Harold Henke in Front Matter, and Back Matter

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Art in Theory 1900 - 2000 by Charles Harrison

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Media and Cultural Studies by Meenakshi Gigi Durham

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The Modern Mind by Peter Watson

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• phonetic literacy
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The Disappearance of Childhood by Neil Postman

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The Jazz Cadence of American Culture by Robert O'Meally

Discusses:

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• Anatomy of Criticism

From Edison to Enron by Richard Munson

Discusses:

• electric age
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• electric world

Art in Theory 1900 - 2000 by Charles Harrison Discusses: electric media electric age mechanical bride Media and Cultural Studies by Meenakshi Gigi Durham Discusses: tribal man electric age electric speed The Modern Mind by Peter Watson Discusses: phonetic literacy electric media Bertrand Russell The Disappearance of Childhood by Neil Postman Discusses: phonetic literacy electric media electric information Loading...

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 27 of 30 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding McLuhan is essential to understanding media, March 18, 1997 By A Customer McLuhan was not the first to open up the field of media study with the focus on the media rather than content. But he was the first to see that ALL human artifacts create their own context of effects, and McLuhan remains unsurpassed in the breadth and depth of his understanding. No field of human endeavor goes unaffected by media environments, and this generous collection is well suited to the serious inquirer, whether new to McLuhan or revisiting him with the onset of the latest manifestations of the electronic age--the web and internet 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars McLuhan 101, March 3, 2006 By  J. Merritt (Washington-Baltimore Corridor) - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase Measuring the impact of Marshall McLuhan on media studies is akin to measuring the impact of media on man. Modern man's entire scope of understanding is impacted by and funneled through media forms, and the field of media study is almost entirely funneled through the groundbreaking work of Marshall McLuhan. He may not be the least appreciated genius of the 20th century, but he is at least among the most niche-appreciated; for a man whose theories have practical, everyday applications for just about every human on the planet, he is rarely discussed outside the circle of communication and media students, academics, and researchers. That's where a compilation like this one can come in very handy. For the new McLuhan reader, this generous collection offers enlightening snippets from nearly all of his major works, as well as some informative profile pieces. It's a great introduction to McLuhan specifically, and to media studies in general, and should nicely pique the interest for further study. 1 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars THE Intro to McLuhan, March 18, 2001 By  J. Halmos (Toronto) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Essential McLuhan (Hardcover) I trust this is the one compiled by his son Eric. Anyway, this book seems to read like McLuhan always wanted it: short, digestible bursts of prose. The Playboy Interview is fantastic. I always generally enjoyed McLuhan in a dialog scenario more than his writings, though his writings definitely tend to have more moving moments of clarity and epiphany.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1st edition (July 11, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465019951
• ISBN-13: 978-0465019953
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #162,842 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding McLuhan is essential to understanding media, March 18, 1997

By A Customer

McLuhan was not the first to open up the field of media study with the focus on the media rather than content. But he was the first to see that ALL human artifacts create their own context of effects, and McLuhan remains unsurpassed in the breadth and depth of his understanding. No field of human endeavor goes unaffected by media environments, and this generous collection is well suited to the serious inquirer, whether new to McLuhan or revisiting him with the onset of the latest manifestations of the electronic age--the web and internet

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McLuhan 101, March 3, 2006

By	J. Merritt (Washington-Baltimore Corridor) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Measuring the impact of Marshall McLuhan on media studies is akin to measuring the impact of media on man. Modern man's entire scope of understanding is impacted by and funneled through media forms, and the field of media study is almost entirely funneled through the groundbreaking work of Marshall McLuhan. He may not be the least appreciated genius of the 20th century, but he is at least among the most niche-appreciated; for a man whose theories have practical, everyday applications for just about every human on the planet, he is rarely discussed outside the circle of communication and media students, academics, and researchers.

That's where a compilation like this one can come in very handy. For the new McLuhan reader, this generous collection offers enlightening snippets from nearly all of his major works, as well as some informative profile pieces. It's a great introduction to McLuhan specifically, and to media studies in general, and should nicely pique the interest for further study.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Intro to McLuhan, March 18, 2001

By	J. Halmos (Toronto) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Essential McLuhan (Hardcover)

I trust this is the one compiled by his son Eric.

Anyway, this book seems to read like McLuhan always wanted it: short, digestible bursts of prose.

The Playboy Interview is fantastic. I always generally enjoyed McLuhan in a dialog scenario more than his writings, though his writings definitely tend to have more moving moments of clarity and epiphany.