1. Tests of Time William H. Gass In these fourteen witty and elegant essays, William Gass (“the finest prose stylist in America”—Steven Moore, Washington Post) writes about writing, reading, culture, history, politics, and public opinion. In the first of three parts, Gass addresses literary matters and writers, and contemplates, among other things: the nature of narrative and its philosophical implications; experimental fiction and its importance; literary “lists” (including the currently controversial canon of western literature) and their use. In part two, Gass looks at social and political contretemps: the extent and cost of political influences on writers; the First Amendment, the Fatwa, and Salman Rushdie; our view of Germany, as in “How German are we?” Finally, Gass gives us a celebration of Flaubert and considers the problems of writing history. Tests of Time is William Gass at his most dazzling. It is a high-wire act of thinking and writing that serves up what Vladimir Nabokov called an “indescribable tingle of the spine.”

    Tests of Time

    William H. Gass

    In these fourteen witty and elegant essays, William Gass (“the finest prose stylist in America”—Steven Moore, Washington Post) writes about writing, reading, culture, history, politics, and public opinion.

    In the first of three parts, Gass addresses literary matters and writers, and contemplates, among other things: the nature of narrative and its philosophical implications; experimental fiction and its importance; literary “lists” (including the currently controversial canon of western literature) and their use. In part two, Gass looks at social and political contretemps: the extent and cost of political influences on writers; the First Amendment, the Fatwa, and Salman Rushdie; our view of Germany, as in “How German are we?” Finally, Gass gives us a celebration of Flaubert and considers the problems of writing history.

    Tests of Time is William Gass at his most dazzling. It is a high-wire act of thinking and writing that serves up what Vladimir Nabokov called an “indescribable tingle of the spine.”
  2. City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles Mike Davis The hidden story of L.A. Mike davis shows us where the city’s money comes form and who controls it while also exposing the brutal ongoing struggle between L.A.’s haves and have-nots.

    City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles

    Mike Davis

    The hidden story of L.A. Mike davis shows us where the city’s money comes form and who controls it while also exposing the brutal ongoing struggle between L.A.’s haves and have-nots.
  3. But Beautiful: A Book about Jazz Geoff Dyer In eight poetically charged vignettes, Geoff Dyer skillfully evokes the music and the men who shaped modern jazz. Drawing on photos, anecdotes, and, most important, the way he hears the music, Dyer imaginatively reconstructs scenes from the embattled lives of some of the greats: Lester Young fading away in a hotel room; Charles Mingus storming down the streets of New York on a too-small bicycle; Thelonius Monk creating his own private language on the piano. However, music is the driving force of But Beautiful, and Dyer brings it to life in luminescent and wildly metaphoric prose that mirrors the quirks, eccentricity, and brilliance of each musician’s style.

    But Beautiful: A Book about Jazz

    Geoff Dyer

    In eight poetically charged vignettes, Geoff Dyer skillfully evokes the music and the men who shaped modern jazz. Drawing on photos, anecdotes, and, most important, the way he hears the music, Dyer imaginatively reconstructs scenes from the embattled lives of some of the greats: Lester Young fading away in a hotel room; Charles Mingus storming down the streets of New York on a too-small bicycle; Thelonius Monk creating his own private language on the piano. However, music is the driving force of But Beautiful, and Dyer brings it to life in luminescent and wildly metaphoric prose that mirrors the quirks, eccentricity, and brilliance of each musician’s style.
  4. Donald Judd: A Good Chair Is a Good Chair Donald Judd

    Donald Judd: A Good Chair Is a Good Chair

    Donald Judd
  5. Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism Fredric Jameson Now in paperback, Fredric Jameson’s most wide-ranging work seeks to crystalize a definition of “postmodernism.” Jameson’s inquiry looks at the postmodern across a wide landscape, from “high” art to “low,” from market ideology to architecture, from painting to “punk” film, from video art to literature.

    Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism

    Fredric Jameson

    Now in paperback, Fredric Jameson’s most wide-ranging work seeks to crystalize a definition of “postmodernism.” Jameson’s inquiry looks at the postmodern across a wide landscape, from “high” art to “low,” from market ideology to architecture, from painting to “punk” film, from video art to literature.
  6. Hanne Darboven: Cultural History 1880-1983 Dan Adler An illustrated study of Hanne Darboven’s masterwork, the massive Kulturgeschichte 1880-1983 (Cultural History 1880-1983).

    Hanne Darboven: Cultural History 1880-1983

    Dan Adler

    An illustrated study of Hanne Darboven’s masterwork, the massive Kulturgeschichte 1880-1983 (Cultural History 1880-1983).
  7. The Post Card: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond Jacques Derrida With The Post Card, as with Glas (Univ. of Nebraska , 1986), Derrida appears more as writer than as philosopher. Or we could say that here, in what is in part a mock epistolary novel (the long section is called “Envois,” roughly, “dispatches” ), he stages his writing more overtly than in the scholarly works. The uninitiated reader will find Gregory L. Ulmer’s Applied Grammatology (Johns Hopkins, 1984) indispensable for understanding this performative dimension of Derrida’s work. Whether this feature comes across fully in the English is open to question, though Bass is dependable as translator and helpful in his glosses. The Post Card also contains a series of self-reflective essays, largely focused on Freud, in which Derrida is beautifully lucid and direct.

    The Post Card: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond

    Jacques Derrida

    With The Post Card, as with Glas (Univ. of Nebraska , 1986), Derrida appears more as writer than as philosopher. Or we could say that here, in what is in part a mock epistolary novel (the long section is called “Envois,” roughly, “dispatches” ), he stages his writing more overtly than in the scholarly works. The uninitiated reader will find Gregory L. Ulmer’s Applied Grammatology (Johns Hopkins, 1984) indispensable for understanding this performative dimension of Derrida’s work. Whether this feature comes across fully in the English is open to question, though Bass is dependable as translator and helpful in his glosses. The Post Card also contains a series of self-reflective essays, largely focused on Freud, in which Derrida is beautifully lucid and direct.
  8. How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found Doug Richmond This book contains heavy duty disappearing techniques for those with a need to know. It tells how to plan the disappearance, how to arrange for new identification, how to cope with the first few days, how to find a job and establish credit. You’ll learn how to remain invisible from whoever might be after you; the police, private eyes, insurance companies, your spouse. You’ll learn how to make it appear you’ve left the country when you haven’t. You’ll even learn how to commit fake suicide.

    How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found

    Doug Richmond

    This book contains heavy duty disappearing techniques for those with a need to know. It tells how to plan the disappearance, how to arrange for new identification, how to cope with the first few days, how to find a job and establish credit. You’ll learn how to remain invisible from whoever might be after you; the police, private eyes, insurance companies, your spouse. You’ll learn how to make it appear you’ve left the country when you haven’t. You’ll even learn how to commit fake suicide.
  9. Graphs, Maps, Trees: Abstract Models for Literary History Franco Moretti In this groundbreaking book, Franco Moretti argues that literature scholars should stop reading books and start counting, graphing, and mapping them instead. In place of the traditionally selective literary canon of a few hundred texts, Moretti offers charts, maps and time lines, developing the idea of “distant reading” into a full-blown experiment in literary historiography, in which the canon disappears into the larger literary system. Charting entire genres—the epistolary, the gothic, and the historical novel—as well as the literary output of countries such as Japan, Italy, Spain, and Nigeria, he shows how literary history looks significantly different from what is commonly supposed and how the concept of aesthetic form can be radically redefined.

    Graphs, Maps, Trees: Abstract Models for Literary History

    Franco Moretti

    In this groundbreaking book, Franco Moretti argues that literature scholars should stop reading books and start counting, graphing, and mapping them instead. In place of the traditionally selective literary canon of a few hundred texts, Moretti offers charts, maps and time lines, developing the idea of “distant reading” into a full-blown experiment in literary historiography, in which the canon disappears into the larger literary system. Charting entire genres—the epistolary, the gothic, and the historical novel—as well as the literary output of countries such as Japan, Italy, Spain, and Nigeria, he shows how literary history looks significantly different from what is commonly supposed and how the concept of aesthetic form can be radically redefined.
  10. Graphic Design in America: A Visual Language History Mildred Friedman Graphic design has had a profound impact upon American life in the 19th and 20th centuries. Essays by specialists in the field examine areas that include graphic design’s role as a social force as well as the effect of technological developments and political change.

    Graphic Design in America: A Visual Language History

    Mildred Friedman

    Graphic design has had a profound impact upon American life in the 19th and 20th centuries. Essays by specialists in the field examine areas that include graphic design’s role as a social force as well as the effect of technological developments and political change.
  11. Identities Hugues Boekraad & Mevis and Van Deursen When Rotterdam was designated Cultural Capital of Europe for 2001, the organization of Rotterdam 2001 began searching for a house style that would perfectly express the content and character of this festival as well as the identity of the city. Five prominent design firms were invited to submit proposals for this complex assignment: Atelier de Creation Graphique, Paris; Bureau for Telecommunication, Historicity & Mobility, Rotterdam; Mevis and Van Deursen, Amsterdam; Proforma, Rotterdam; and Qwer, Cologne. Identities contains the winning proposal, conceived by Mevis and Van Deursen, who also designed the book itself, as well as a complete documentation of all of the other entries. Including an introduction by Toon Lauwen and comments by design critic Hugues Boekraad, Identities presents an inspiring picture of five very different proposals for the development of a house style, making this case study essential for graphic designers and fans of graphic design alike.

    Identities

    Hugues Boekraad & Mevis and Van Deursen

    When Rotterdam was designated Cultural Capital of Europe for 2001, the organization of Rotterdam 2001 began searching for a house style that would perfectly express the content and character of this festival as well as the identity of the city. Five prominent design firms were invited to submit proposals for this complex assignment: Atelier de Creation Graphique, Paris; Bureau for Telecommunication, Historicity & Mobility, Rotterdam; Mevis and Van Deursen, Amsterdam; Proforma, Rotterdam; and Qwer, Cologne. Identities contains the winning proposal, conceived by Mevis and Van Deursen, who also designed the book itself, as well as a complete documentation of all of the other entries. Including an introduction by Toon Lauwen and comments by design critic Hugues Boekraad, Identities presents an inspiring picture of five very different proposals for the development of a house style, making this case study essential for graphic designers and fans of graphic design alike.
  12. Objects of Desire: Design and Society Since 1750 Adrian Forty Objects of Desire looks at the appearance of consumer goods in the 200 years since the introduction of mechanized production, whether in Josiah Wedgewood’s use of neo-classicism for his industrially manufactured pottery or the development of appropriate forms for wirelesses. The argument is illustrated with examples ranging from penknives to computers and from sewing machines to railway carriages. In opening up new ways of appraising the man-made world around us, Objects of Desire is required reading for anyone who has any involvement with design and a revealing document about our society.

    Objects of Desire: Design and Society Since 1750

    Adrian Forty

    Objects of Desire looks at the appearance of consumer goods in the 200 years since the introduction of mechanized production, whether in Josiah Wedgewood’s use of neo-classicism for his industrially manufactured pottery or the development of appropriate forms for wirelesses. The argument is illustrated with examples ranging from penknives to computers and from sewing machines to railway carriages. In opening up new ways of appraising the man-made world around us, Objects of Desire is required reading for anyone who has any involvement with design and a revealing document about our society.
  13. The Everyday Life Reader Ben Highmore (editor) The Everyday Life Reader brings together thinkers ranging from Freud to Baudrillard with primary sources. It thus provides a complete and comprehensive resource on theories of everyday life. Ben Highmore’s introduction surveys the development of thought about everyday life, setting theories in their social and historical context, and each themed section opens with an essay introducing the debates.

    The Everyday Life Reader

    Ben Highmore (editor)

    The Everyday Life Reader brings together thinkers ranging from Freud to Baudrillard with primary sources. It thus provides a complete and comprehensive resource on theories of everyday life. Ben Highmore’s introduction surveys the development of thought about everyday life, setting theories in their social and historical context, and each themed section opens with an essay introducing the debates.
  14. Typography, Advertising, Book Design Max Bill Max Bill considered himself primarily an architect, yet he was also an inventive and tireless creator of type fonts and commercial logos, as well as being a designer with wonderful sense of visual humor - not exactly a common feature of Swiss graphic art, as the publisher (also Swiss) points out. This rich monograph gives Max Bill fans an extensive an inspring look at works for which he has received little attention, in the fields of typography, advertising and book design.

    Typography, Advertising, Book Design

    Max Bill

    Max Bill considered himself primarily an architect, yet he was also an inventive and tireless creator of type fonts and commercial logos, as well as being a designer with wonderful sense of visual humor - not exactly a common feature of Swiss graphic art, as the publisher (also Swiss) points out. This rich monograph gives Max Bill fans an extensive an inspring look at works for which he has received little attention, in the fields of typography, advertising and book design.
  15. About a Mountain John D’Agata When John D’Agata helps his mother move to Las Vegas one summer, he begins to follow a story about the federal government’s plan to store high-level nuclear waste at a place called Yucca Mountain, a desert range near the city of Las Vegas. Bearing witness to the parade of scientific, cultural, and political facts that give shape to Yucca’s story, D’Agata keeps the six tenets of reporting in mind—Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How—arranging his own investigation around each vital question. Yet as the contradictions inherent in Yucca’s story are revealed, D’Agata’s investigation turns inevitably personal. He finds himself investigating the death of a teenager who jumps off the tower of the Stratosphere Hotel, a boy whom D’Agata believes he spoke with before his suicide. Here is the work of a penetrating thinker whose startling portrait of a mountain in the desert compels a reexamination of the future of human life.

    About a Mountain

    John D’Agata

    When John D’Agata helps his mother move to Las Vegas one summer, he begins to follow a story about the federal government’s plan to store high-level nuclear waste at a place called Yucca Mountain, a desert range near the city of Las Vegas. Bearing witness to the parade of scientific, cultural, and political facts that give shape to Yucca’s story, D’Agata keeps the six tenets of reporting in mind—Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How—arranging his own investigation around each vital question.

    Yet as the contradictions inherent in Yucca’s story are revealed, D’Agata’s investigation turns inevitably personal. He finds himself investigating the death of a teenager who jumps off the tower of the Stratosphere Hotel, a boy whom D’Agata believes he spoke with before his suicide.

    Here is the work of a penetrating thinker whose startling portrait of a mountain in the desert compels a reexamination of the future of human life.
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