Murray (who has the seemingly oxymoronic title of senior research scientist in humanities at MIT) has produced a provocative yet cautious meditation on the possibilities and ramifications of encounters between traditional literature, characterized by the Melancholy Dane, and emerging computer technologies, represented by the holodeck, a form of virtual reality enjoyed by characters on Star Trek. ``The computer is not the enemy of the book. It is the child of print culture,'' declares Murray. A good portion of this effort ``to imagine what kinds of pleasures . . . a cyberliterature will bring us and what sorts of stories it might tell,'' is concerned with clarifying this emergent field's terminology: for instance, ``constructivism'' is a situation of collective authorship between creator and end-user; and ``cyberdrama'' is a catchall term for digital story forms. Many of Murray's ideas are based not in technology but in literary theory and history. Russian formalist Vladimir Propp's folktale morphologies, Murray suggests, might provide the basis for an algorithm that would allow computers to write stories unassisted, and quotes from Forster's Aspects of the Novel are sprinkled throughout the work. Furthermore, both television and computer programs such as the Artificial Intelligencedriven psychotherapist ELIZA (the subject of the book's most amusing section) are acknowledged for their contributions. The well-known ``fourth wall'' of theater and the attempts of playwrights to subvert it serve as a strong metaphor for Murray in trying to describe how virtual reality and MUDs (Multi-User Domains) may affect the future of narrative. Unfortunately, it is here that her insecurities about authorship are most apparent. Statements on behalf of authors such as, ``If we give the interactor complete freedom to improvise, we lose control of the plot,'' give the reader the strong feeling that, to quote the Bard, Murray ``doth protest too much.'' This control issue notwithstanding, Hamlet on the Holodeck suggests some truly fascinating possibilities for the future of narrative and the imminent arrival of the first ``Cyberbard.''
Pub Date: July 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-684-82723-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1997
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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