Gary Marshall One of the biggest publishing success stories of the last decade has been the legal thriller where bright young turks defend truth, justice and the American way. Attorney-turned-novelist Richard Dooling has obviously spotted this and, with Brainstorm, attempts to bring some new life to the genre. In addition to the usual legal shenanigans […]
James Adams: The Next World War
Chris Mitchell James Adams is the former defence correspondent for the Sunday Times and the author of several books about the changing role of the world’s military forces in the post-Cold War climate. The Next World War examines the impact of technology on the future of armed conflict and the decisive importance of what has […]
Ulf Poschardt: DJ Culture
Chris Mitchell In the last 30 years, the role of the DJ has transformed from being a mere purveyor of pop music to being the creator of pop music. This transformation is due almost solely to the humble analogue technology of the record turntable, which still thrives in the midst of this supposedly digital decade. […]
Linton Kwesi Johnson : Dread Beat An’ Blood : Inglan Is A Bitch
Nancy Rawlinson finds legendary dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnston has not mellowed with age Twenty years ago, a landmark album was released in the UK. Dread Beat An’ Blood was Linton Kwesi Johnson’s debut recording, the first time his political poetry had been accompanied by the powerful beats of reggae. This new form of music, […]
Douglas Coupland: Lara’s Book Lara Croft And The Tomb Raider Phenomenon
Chris Mitchell Well, it had to happen. Lara Croft, star of the Tomb Raider videogames, gets the coffee table treatment in her own glossy picture book. In an attempt to give this tome some literary gravitas, “Generation X” author Douglas Coupland has been drafted in to provides thoughts about the Lara phenomenon and a story […]
Scott Adams: Dilbert Seven Years Of Highly Defective People
Chris Mitchell Dilbert is rapidly becoming enough of a cartoon icon to rival the fame of Disney’s most enduring creations. Chronicling the trials of a hapless IT engineer battling against the absurdities of corporate life, the Dilbert comic strip appears in over 1500 newspapers worldwide. Seven Years Of Highly Defective People is creator Scott Adams’ […]
Melanie McGrath : Hard, Soft And Wet: Doing It For The Kids
Chris Mitchell meets Melanie McGrath, chronicler of the Digital Generation The days of travel writing being produced by someone wearing a pith helmet and clutching a pink gin are thankfully over. The new generation of travel writers are increasingly venturing into uncharted territories, as Melanie McGrath’s new book Hard, Soft And Wet demonstrates. No, it’s […]
Arthur C. Clarke : 3001: The Final Odyssey : The Final Odyssey
Arthur C. Clarke on life, the universe and everything Spike note: This interview was released as part of the PR package for Clarke’s most recent book, 3001: The Final Odyssey. Therefore it’s appeared in several places before. However, since interviews with Clarke these days are rare, it seemed foolish not to reproduce it here. Transcript […]
Joey Anuff, Ana Marie Cox: Suck: Worst Case Scenarios In Media, Culture, Advertising and The Internet
Chris Mitchell Suck has long been the sardonic scourge of the internet. Under the slogan “a fish, a barrel, and a smoking gun”, the Suck website serves up a free daily dose of mordant satire, analysis and “buzzsaw journalism” about the most recent media occurrences. It’s a recipe which has made Suck popular across the […]
Mark Slouka: War Of The Worlds: The Assault On Reality
Chris Mitchell If Mark Slouka is to be believed, we are losing our grip on reality. With the proliferation of technologies that allow us to immerse ourselves in artificially created worlds – from radio and television through to virtual reality and cyberspace – the line between real reality and artificial reality is blurring. Soon, Slouka […]
Timothy Leary: Design For Dying
Chris Mitchell Even in death, Timothy Leary is still trying to shatter society’s taboos. Design For Dying appears eighteen months after the former Harvard psychologist turned LSD guru passed away from prostate cancer. Written during his last months, Leary’s book attempts to dispel our fear of death by suggesting that technology increasingly lets us orchestrate […]
John seabrook: deeper: no flame, no gain
Deeper grew out of two articles John Seabrook wrote for The New Yorker magazine. The premise of the book is both simple and effective: the “newbie” is sent on a passage to cyberspace, armed only with rudimentary vocabulary and a tube of factor 30 to protect against “flaming”. The voyager then records his progress and, […]
Douglas Rushkoff : Children Of Chaos (Playing The Future) : Lost In Translation
Chris Mitchell speaks to Douglas Rushkoff about making sense of the future “My career is based on the fact that I’m close enough to the boomers to be able to speak their language, but close enough to the busters to understand what the hell it is that they’re doing. I’m one of the hinge […]
Douglas Coupland : Polaroids From The Dead : From Fear To Eternity
Chris Mitchell emails Douglas Coupland about fame, the future and the problem with American chocolate Douglas Coupland is not your average novelist. Since the publication of Generation X in 1991, he has become one of this decade’s most important writers, thanks to his unerring ability to capture the zeitgeist of young middle class America in […]
