Introducing Baudrillard

I must disagree with the majority of the previous reviewers and say that I found Introducting Baudrillard to be a more-or-less positive, helpful text, if you use it in an effective way. Another reviewer mentioned how this book should not under any circumstances be used as "cramming" material or as Baudrillard for Dummies. I fully agree, because that's REALLY not what this book is. It's opaque, it's pretentious, it presupposes that you have at least something of a grounding in critical and cultural theory (and know its lingo), and frankly like all of the Introducing books, it's very, very poorly organized. But hey, I never really ASKED the book to be Baudrillard for Dummies. I read The Perfect Crime on my own before, which left me intrigued (mostly by Baudrillard's hypnotic lexicon) but thoroughly confused, and I bought Introducing Baudrillard so I could get some clarity. It helped me put the stuff that I had just read into a new context and let me step away from my own conceptions of the work. I kept it handy while reading Simulations, and it helped tremendously to eek out some hairy things. So in sum, Introducing Baudrillard shouldn't completely screw you over if you treat it more like an interlocutor and less like a teacher, if that makes any sense. Use it as a companion rather than a source. Recommended for those who want to slog it out through primary sources but wouldn't mind some company.

...but not to the thinkers you must be familiar with to understand him. So, I'd have to say that both reviews below (above?) mine are accurate. This text is an *excellent* introduction to Baudrillard and many of his theories but it also refers to Marx and Freud and if you intend to understand what's in this book, you'd better have at least a basic grasp of their philosophies, as well. This book won't be so great for a group of 8th graders, but for anyone with a few good liberal arts credits under their belt- understanding this shouldn't be a problem. It really is a wealth of information presented in a concise and entertaining way. I feel like I could flip through it- or hell, read the whole thing- 10 mpre times and still be stimulated by its content. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Baudrillard, consumerism, modern society, or philosophy in general.

Ignore the above - like all the books in the Introducing series, this is an exceptionally coherent and successful overview. The format is particularly appropriate and successful in the case of Baudrillard, and it is possible for the intelligent reader to grasp all his key ideas. The best introduction to his thought.

The "Introducing" series are very effective in my view because they both go in depth with the critical theories or foundations of a certain thinker and go through their less significant points. I think seeing all the points without sustaining all belief into the ideas of a person like Baudrillard is great by not getting too caught up in their claims. "Introducing Baudrillard" compares his significance as a thinker to other contemporary and past philosophy very well and being familiar with the intensity of Baudrillard's claims is well worth the time and money.