[.ca] Introducing Postmodernism (ISBN 1840468491)

Slammin!:
Perhaps one of the best introductions to the PoMo phenomenon. Funny how the most insightful sources are the most simple. The complexity of Derrida and Foucault seems to fade away as I moved from one section to the next. I really appreciated the writers attempt at not mocking the complex topic and trying to make is real. I was specially appreciative of the sections that introduced the PoMo phenomenon. Despite the lack of real direction Postmodern thinking provides, it is a really interesting phenomenon and worth exploring. If you take this as your starting point then move to "The Truth about the Truth: De-Confusing and Re-constructing the Postmodern World" by Walter Truett Anderson (also provided by Amazon.com) and then proceed to engage in the specific writers and artists themselves, this purposeful ambiguity will eventually fade away. Miguel Llora

It isn't the best book I have read on the subject, but does a pretty good job of presenting complex concepts in a simple way...:
"Introducing Postmodernism", by Richard Appignanesi, is just as its name suggests, a good basic introduction to Postmodernism. This small and engaging book traces the origins of the concept and its evolution, from the points of view of theory, art and science. Truth to be told, it isn't the best book I have read on the subject, but does a pretty good job of presenting complex concepts in a simple way, and giving you a general idea of what Postomodernism is about. If that is what you are looking for, this is likely to be the book for you. In case you need or want to know more, you will need to read other books too, but this would be nonetheless an adequate starting point. From my point of view, "Introducing Postmodernism" is worth your time. Recommended :) Belen Alcat, May 2007

Introducing A Book Review:
The book is the best short treatment of recent intellectual currents in western thought that I have read. It is especially applicable to the U.S. in the quotation: "The crux of postmodernity is that there are two 'presents'." One is a 'spectre' present, a Virtual Reality techno-media simulacrum that makes the other 'real' present appear borderline, fugitive, elusive." T.R. Cattan

Everything is better with an Andy Warhol cartoon:
I love the Introducing series. They are excellent study guides for topics that may be unfamiliar. They are generally not to detailed but provide a good jumping off point for further research. Introducing Postmodernism was a bit vague, but i guess so is postmodernism itself. To completely understand the book, you first must have an idea what postmodernism is, and if you have such an idea, you don't really need a postmodern study guide. It gives alot of examples of postmodernity in society without actually stating what postmoderninsm is, but who CAN acctually state what postmodernism is? It discusses everyone from Stephen Hawking to Madonna, everything from "Cyberia" and genetic cloning to Disneyland and karaoke. It might give you some ideas if you have to write a paper, than again it just might frustrate you and cause you to spin off into cyberspace.

5 Into 2 Won't Go:
Many readers are put off by the very idea of serious works being reduced to a comic book format. I'm not. My experience with the Classic Comic Books of old was a good one and helped stimulate me into a more conventional direction later on. It should be admitted, however, that some serious topics are more suited to that format than others. In this case, the authors' section on postmodern art is well suited as it traces the evolution of visual styles over the preceding decades. There is much to learn here. But this asset, I'm afraid, is simply outweighed by the other two sections. These deal with topics that likely defy the most skillful of conversion attempts. Put briefly, rendering the postmodern theory of these two sections into skimpy simplifying text along with none-to-helpful graphics is almost like rendering quantum theory into a serious discussion between Ren & Stimpy. The material is simply too refractory. The authors' effort represents an honorable failure; and a task made no easier by the fact that the rhetoric of many of PoMo's leading exponents has itself been exposed as empty and inflated. (Sokal & Bricmont's, *Fashionable Nonsense*) Still, whatever its ultimate worth, I think PoMo is worth pursuing since it does capture the Zeitgeist of two key contemporary trends: consumerism and globalization. More text, however, is required by any effective introduction. So, at your own risk.