About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherThames & Hudson

ISBN-100500292582

ISBN-139780500292587

eBay Product ID (ePID)227558181

Product Key Features

Book TitleMythomania : Tales of Our Times, from Apple to Isis

Number of Pages248 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2017

TopicCivilization, Modern / 21st Century, Anthropology / Cultural & Social

GenreSocial Science, History

AuthorPeter Conrad

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1.2 in

Item Weight19.7 Oz

Item Length9.5 in

Item Width6.4 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2016-940019

ReviewsA deft updating of Parisian semiotics and midcentury cultural criticism for our own time. If you're a fan of Barthes and of the Umberto Eco of How to Travel with a Salmon, you'll likely enjoy this entertaining rejoinder, [a] look at the hidden structures and unacknowledged tendencies of our day., A deft updating of Parisian semiotics and midcentury cultural criticism for our own time. If you're a fan of Barthes and of the Umberto Eco of How to Travel with a Salmon, you'll likely enjoy this entertaining rejoinder, [a] look at the hidden structures and unacknowledged tendencies of our day. -- Kirkus Reviews

SynopsisWeaves ancient myth into modern celebrity and consumerist culture to expose the absurdity and occasional insanity of twenty-first-century society, economy, and politics, Weaves ancient myth into modern celebrity and consumerist culture to expose the absurdity and occasional insanity of twenty-first-century society, economy, and politics Despite a proclaimed respect for scientific reason, humans are still as intrigued by myth as their remote ancestors. Laptops and smartphones are sold under a logo that invokes the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden; skimpily clad classical nymphs cavort in TV reality shows; Narcissus makes a comeback whenever we snap a selfie. Mythical creatures such as handsome vampires abound in best-selling novels. Myth has also invaded the political realm, now that terrorists brandish black flags and recite theological mantras as they martyr themselves. In twenty-seven self-contained entries, Conrad illuminates in his own remarkable way subjects from the British Queen to the Kardashians, via Banksy, vaping, and the inception of the Large Hadron Collider. In Judge Judy, he shows a matronly Roman goddess dispensing justice with a fly swatter. In the metamorphosis of Caitlyn Jenner from Olympic athlete and paterfamilias into idealized female form, he finds parallels to the transformations of the residents of Mount Olympus. Myths used to tell us where we came from. Now, alarmed but also elated by the pace of change in our society, we need them to tell us where we are going., Despite a proclaimed respect for scientific reason, humans are still as intrigued by myth as their remote ancestors. Laptops and smartphones are sold under a logo that invokes the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden; skimpily clad classical nymphs cavort in TV reality shows; Narcissus makes a comeback whenever we snap a selfie. Mythical creatures such as handsome vampires abound in best-selling novels. Myth has also invaded the political realm, now that terrorists brandish black flags and recite theological mantras as they martyr themselves. In twenty-seven self-contained entries, Conrad illuminates in his own remarkable way subjects from the British Queen to the Kardashians, via Banksy, vaping, and the inception of the Large Hadron Collider. In Judge Judy, he shows a matronly Roman goddess dispensing justice with a fly swatter. In the metamorphosis of Caitlyn Jenner from Olympic athlete and paterfamilias into idealized female form, he finds parallels to the transformations of the residents of Mount Olympus. Myths used to tell us where we came from. Now, alarmed but also elated by the pace of change in our society, we need them to tell us where we are going.

LC Classification NumberCB428