Product Description

What connects Marliyn Monroe, Disneyworld, "The Satanic Verses" and cyber space? Answer: Postmodernism. But what exactly is postmodernism? This graphic guide explains clearly the maddeningly enigmatic concept that has been used to define the world's cultural condition over the last three decades. "Introducing Postmodernism" tracks the idea back to its roots by taking a tour of some of the most extreme and exhilarating events, people and thought of the last 100 years: in art - constructivism, conceptual art, Marcel Duchamp, Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol; in politics and history - McCarthy's witch-hunts, feminism, Francis Fukuyama and the Holocaust; in philosophy - the work of Derrida, Baudrillard, Foucault and Heidegger. The book also explores postmodernism's take on today, and the anxious grip of globalisation, unpredictable terrorism and unforeseen war that greeted the dawn of the 21st century. Regularly controversial, rarely straightforward and seldom easy, postmodernism is nonetheless a thrilling intellectual adventure. "Introducing Postmodernism" is the ideal guide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50439 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Sunday Times
"Brilliantly wide-ranging"

About the Author
Richard Appignanesi is a novelist, editor and publisher, and a Research Fellow at King's College London. He is the originating editor of the Introducing series and has also written Freud and Existentialism books in the series. Chris Garratt is an illustrator and cartoonist whose "Biff" comic series ran for twenty years in the Guardian.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful, impenetrable- of no use on its own.
As a reference book on postmodernism, this is a great. As a piece of art on postmodernism, it is also a triumph. As an introduction, however, it is completely and utterly useless. If you want to begin to understand the ideas in this book, pick up a "Teach Yourself Postmodernism"- far superiour as an introduction, but it misses out the most recent developments, and is not nearly so fascinating. Until then, this book serves an a labrynthine novelty- afterwards, it becomes a very useful and elegant reference book.
Possibly the only book I've ever read to jump from 1 to 5 stars on second reading.

Hard work but has some real gems
Despite the excellent illustrations this books is a bit of a struggle for the uninitiated (possible even for the initiated)especially the second section. As an introduction it probably does its job - it left me with a taste for the subject, wanting to know more and a useful list of further reading. The nature of the book is that it is a swift trawl through an extremely complex subject. My preference would have been a less technically complex text with greater sympathy for the layman...but maybe I bought the wrong book! This is the kind of book that needs an associated website to help answer your questions...hey, maybe I've just discovered a new concept for publishers (hint, hint!)

Where's the glossary?
I'm an A level art student so i was half expecting this book to be a little beyond me, but my art tutor found it incredibly hard going too. It's a good idea to put all the hard words in bold, but it would be a better idea to actually explain what they mean. On the upside this book has left me wanting to find out a lot more, maybe thats because i now know a lot of the words and don't know what they mean. I hope they make one of the 'dummies guides' to postmodernism soon!