Marshall McLuhan (Magill Book Reviews)

Most people over thirty have heard of Marshall McLuhan; not a few have seen his cameo appearance in Woody Allen’s ANNIE HALL. Finding anyone who has read his books is not so easy. Mention his name around English departments and the response is likely to be a condescending sneer--rarely based on firsthand knowledge. Biographer Philip Marchand describes a cartoon that appeared in THE NEW YORKER in 1970, showing a young woman addressing her companion as they are leaving a cocktail party: “Ashley, are your sure it’s not too soon to go around parties saying, ’What ever happened to Marshall McLuhan?’”

Often dismissed as a phenomenon of the 1960’s, a creature of hype, McLuhan was indeed given to scattershot pronouncements, irresponsible generalizations, and (in private mainly rather than in print) wild conspiracy theories. He was also a provocative and far-sighted thinker of genuine originality, many of whose insights are only beginning to be understood and applied. The time is ripe for a fresh appraisal of his thought--an enterprise to which MARSHALL MCLUHAN: THE MEDIUM AND THE MESSENGER makes an indispensable contribution. Aside from providing that service, this biography tells a story that is fascinating in its own right, especially as it illuminates the enormous gap between the “media guru” and the real man in all his complexities and contradictions.

In recounting the rise of an obscure Canadian English professor to worldwide fame (and the hardships, physical and otherwise, of McLuhan’s last years), Marchand seamlessly combines exposition of his subject’s thought with a narrative of his personal and professional life. While making clear the scope of McLuhan’s achievements, Marchand maintains an objective distance throughout, drawing heavily on letters and interviews with people who knew McLuhan. The text is supplemented by illustrations, notes, and index, and a bibliography of writings by and about McLuhan.

Sources for Further Study

Commonweal. CXVI, October 6, 1989, p.537.

Insight. V, August 7, 1989, p.62.

Kirkus Reviews. LVII, February 1, 1989, p.189.

Library Journal. XCIV, March 15, 1989, p.75.

Los Angeles Times Book Review. June 4, 1989, p.23.

Maclean’s. CII, May 22, 1989, p.63.

National Review. XLI, June 30, 1989, p.46.

Publishers Weekly. CCXXXV, January 27, 1989, p.458.

The Washington Post Book World. XIX, April 30, 1989, p.4.