First of all, who is this William Irwin Thompson and how come I have only now begun to read his work? The grandeur of his ideas, the intensity with which they are expressed, and the meshing of acrobatic prose and societal discourses certainly makes it clear Thompson is in no mood to fool around. Although the book was published in 1991, it would be hasty to believe it is outdated--topics covered include CNN, Disneyland, the Digital Age, and politics. The author's social critique ranges from the American fast food culture--which he believes is being applied to the digitalized, computerized world of the future--to the failure of political powers to recognize what he describes as the "microbiology" of human nature. Thompson is not short of sparkling, lyrical ideas, yet this is a double-edged sword--there are far too many ideas that are not explored in their entirety, and are instead tossed around haphazardly in a seemingly pretentious manner. Thompson uses all the weapons in his arsenal of knowledge, which means that references are made to as many different thinkers, events and situations as one can possibly imagine, thus constantly leaving the reader stranded in the midst of a whirlwind until they are picked up once again with a gust of lyrical prose.

Many will be repelled by his embellished writing style, and it admittedly takes some getting used to. Yet the unashamed flossiness cunningly mirrors the excesses and fabrications he critiques American culture for. Playful and sharp one-liners pepper the book, allowing for instances where we witness honest, conscious self-reflection. Though I felt that more than a handful of his comments were romanticized, paper-thin arguments, I could not help but be entertained by his whimsical and intellectual ramblings. It is certainly refreshing to read someone with such strong opinions, and I look forward to reading more of his work.

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Either a slim slab of semiotic Semtex or the basic material for a terrific stand-up routine, or both. Probably both. Its critique of Bush /pere/ is weirdly pertinent.