Introducing Semiotics

This book is superb for people who can see the difficult sides and implications of various semioticians and their claims. It, at first glance, seems very abstract and poorly done, but all the elements needed to grasp the concepts are present. I am ambiguous about how to rate this book, however, since I realize that it is not a good book for every one who wants a good introduction to the subject, which should be crystal clear and very well-organized. If you read carefully though, the author seems to have woven some elements of semiotics he discusses into the book itself (with the help of the indeed brilliant illustrator, might I add). And you can read between the lines to fully explore all the hidden meanings the author has planted in the text, so I ended up giving it a full-rating. I recommend this book highly to anyone who loves the art of reading and loves interacting with text in depth.

Introducing Semiotics does just that, it INTRODUCES the topic, head thinkers, facets of thought, etc., to the reader (one would assume the reader a casual one, not brought to reading this by a graduate course). It is a fair and thorough evaluation of what semiotics IS and what it IS NOT. It does everything I believe it sets out to do, and it is a great read for everyone, even one who already has a firm grasp on the topic. I recommend it most highly.

"Introducing Semiotics" aims to provide a taste of the study of signs and the theories that have grown from it in the 20th century. It identifies key theorists from either side of the atlantic and tries, -sometimes unsuccessfully- to explain the simple concepts behind difficult terms. Charles Pierce's thinking is still over my head, for instance, but I'm admittedly slow on the uptake sometimes. Lacan's Lectures on Technique may continue to languish unread on my shelf, but maybe I can stop being lazy now, because this introduction has made him less intimidating. This is partly due to Jansz's illustrations - plucky and surprising in the often abstract matter they portray. "Introducing Semiotics" has given me a taste for communication theory, and made me want to pick up Eco again, so all in all, it's good.

Introducing Semiotics isn't the best of the Introducing series but it is a good read. I have accumulated several of the Introducing study guides and find them delightful. They are the right length for weekend reading and the illustrations are always amusing. Introducing Semiotics was one of the more difficult in the series due to the busy style in which it was written. I had to reread about half of the book before completely grasping it, not because of the subject matter but because of the wording. It felt like the author was trying to hard to to make things sound nice rather than trying to elucidate the topic.Despite the writting style, the book was very helpful. It is a must for anyone who is studying something related to semiotics, like film theory, and needs a jumping off point for research. It isn't too in depth to understand but it still covers all the major topics that you will likely have an essay question or two on.To sum things up... If you're looking for informative entertainment, get one of the other introducing books, but if you need a semiotics study guide it is definitley worth the nine or ten bucks.