Forward through the rearview mirror : reflections on and by Marshall McLuhan

Without trying to undermine the insights of McLuhan himself, I think that this book represents just another episode in the `everybody loves Marshall' series. Similar to `Digital McLuhan' by Levinson, this book is crawling with remarks stating how great and wonderful McLuhan was and that it is such a big loss for the world as we know that he's dead. I sincerely wish that - as McLuhan put it himself - the comments would engage more in a dynamic discours on his insights and thoughts and would try to make something out of it. But no, I find myself flipping through oodles of pages for the simple reason that it just contains one of those trival McLuhan-anecdotes/memorabilia. Supposedly McLuhan made it to the top ten of all-time thinkers - such as Nietzsche, Kant, Plato etc. Sure, the insights provided by him are pretty slick, but one has to look for them since most of the books concern the opinions of others that would also like to say a thing or two. It's like a bunch of groupies standing at the far end of a stage thinking that they now too are famous. As far the rest of the book is concerned, there are some nice quotes from McLuhan himself that could very well change your perspective on things happening in our world today. It provides some interesting insights and line of thought for further study. Respect goes out to the extensive bibliography that make it easier to trace back his work. It is truly `McLuhan for the coffee-table', but mind you, there might be a lot of uninvited guests.

Forward through the Rearview Mirror: Reflections on and by Marshall McLuhan can be considered one of the greatest tributes McLuhan could have ever received. By preserving the particular organization, writing style, and design McLuhan used in The Medium is the Massage and Global Village, editors Paul Benedetti and Nancy DeHart are able to keep his soul and ideology alive. Insights not only from McLuhan himself, but also from many other media theorists who react and share their experiences about the readings, are the editor's elements to explain what was going on deeply inside McLuhan's mind. As the MTV programming, this book has a continuous flow in which each chapter looks like a new video clip, which is totally related with the preceding, and flows directly into the following. However, instead of creating these connections with complete paragraphs and nice connectors, the editors choose to throw isolated pieces of pictures, paragraphs and quotations. It is the inner most meaning of every written and visual piece what makes a unified theory out of this book. A new way of communication which McLuhan would define as "Any new structure for codifying experience and moving information, be it alphabet or photography, has the power of imposing its structural character and assumptions upon all levels of our private and social lives" (106). Therefore, a chapter named "Violence and Identity" will start with a two-page-black and white picture of a Ku Klux Klan's ritual followed by a quotation: "Violence, whether spiritual or physical, is a quest for identity and the meaningful. The less identity, the more violence." On the next page, a picture of a ten-year-old child wearing latex gloves and a gun in each hand; then, McLuhan's theory is introduced with big blue letters: "IT'S WHY THEY HAVE TO KILL," and so forth. This continuous fluidity of meaningful images and writings, involves the audience in an exciting rhythm, making it interact and experience what McLuhan was trying to say by "The Medium is the Message." Instead of having a defined introduction, body and conclusion, Forward through a Rearview Mirror is composed of three different types of writing: biographical information, writings by McLuhan, and writings on McLuhan. Each one of them is placed by the editors to ease the reader's understanding of McLuhan's speech. Information about his background, life, and surroundings is provided by a timeline that covers his most important years: his experiences at different stages of his career, the birth of his own family, and his social life. All these factors influenced his way of analyzing our culture. From interviews, speeches, and books, Benedetti and DeHart quote McLuhan to provide objective information about his insights. Because most of his citations are abstract aphorisms, the audience can read his words either superficially or deeply, stimulated by the adventure of discovering his hidden insight

I think the reviewer below summed it well in his subject line saying "McLuhan for the coffee table." Essentially this book is a list of one-liners and ideas of McLuhans. Snippets and paragraphs from books and articles. Could very well be for the beginner, but without explanitory notes (but with pictures); while it could also be for the person already well versed in McLuhans thoughts. Either way, I found it a great book as I find his thinking fascinating, curious and many times humerous. Well presented in large paperback format with slick paper and color photos, this book is a quick and easy McLuhan treat.

If McLuhan is new to you, and/or if you have a short attention span, this is the one to pick up. McLuhan's timeless insights into the evolution of man's synthesized environment are juxtaposed with in-your-face photographs and artwork that serve as indisputable evidence of the truth of his analysis. Reading this book at 30,000 feet, I was struck at just how clearly McLuhan is able to penetrate the distraction, distortion, and pre- conceptions endemic to modern technical civilization. The book is indeed like a high altitude surveillance flight over the electomagnetic infrastructure of our age. The combination of images and text have a synergy imploring the reader to understand the accelerating importance of man's media in shaping his behavior. Serve with "Propaganda", by Jacques Ellul, and "Manufacturing Consent", by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman.