{"product_id":"selected-nonfiction-19622007-isbn-9780262048323","title":"Selected Nonfiction, 1962-2007","description":"\u003cb\u003eJ. G. Ballard's collected nonfiction from 1962 to 2007, mapping the cultural obsessions, experiences, and insights of one of the most original minds of his generation.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJ. G. Ballard was a colossal figure in English literature and an imaginative force of the twentieth century. Alongside seminal novels—from the notorious \u003ci\u003eCrash \u003c\/i\u003e(1973)\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eto the semi-autobiographical \u003ci\u003eEmpire of the Sun \u003c\/i\u003e(1984)—Ballard was a sought-after reviewer and commentator, publishing journalism, memoir, and cultural criticism in a variety of forms. This volume collects the most significant short nonfiction of Ballard's fifty-year career, extending the range of the only previous collection of his nonfiction, \u003ci\u003eA User's Guide to the Millennium\u003c\/i\u003e (1996), which selected essays and reviews published between 1962 and 1995.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA decade on from Ballard's death in 2009, a new generation of readers needs a new collection. In the period following \u003ci\u003eA User's Guide\u003c\/i\u003e, Ballard's writing addressed 9\/11, British politics from New Labour onward, and what he termed “the rise of soft fascism”—a diagnosis that maintains its relevance amid a shift toward right populism in European and US politics. Beautifully edited by Ballard scholar and novelist Mark Blacklock, this volume includes Ballard's editorials and manifestos; commentaries on his own work; commentaries on the work of others; reviews; and more. Above all, it makes the case for the currency of Ballard's work at a contemporary juncture at which so many of his diagnoses concerning the media and politics have become apparent.FOREWORD BY TOM MCCARTHY xi\u003cbr\u003e INTRODUCTION xv\u003cbr\u003e NOTES ON THE EDITION xxxi\u003cbr\u003e 1 STATEMENTS 1\u003cbr\u003e  Which Way to Inner Space? (1962) 3\u003cbr\u003e  Notes from Nowhere (1966) 7\u003cbr\u003e  Introduction to the French Edition of Crash! (1974\/1975) 10\u003cbr\u003e  What I Believe (1984) 15\u003cbr\u003e 2 NEW WORLDS 19\u003cbr\u003e  Myth Maker of the 20th Century (1964) 23\u003cbr\u003e  La Jetée, Academy One (1966) 28\u003cbr\u003e  The Coming of the Unconscious (1966) 30\u003cbr\u003e  The Thousand Wounds and Flowers (1969) 35\u003cbr\u003e  Salvador Dali: The Innocent as Paranoid (1969) 38\u003cbr\u003e  Use Your Vagina (1969) 46\u003cbr\u003e  Alphabets of Unreason (1969) 50\u003cbr\u003e 3 COMMENTARIES 55\u003cbr\u003e  On Own Work: Novels 56\u003cbr\u003e The Drowned World (1963) 57\u003cbr\u003e The Atrocity Exhibition (1969) 59\u003cbr\u003e Concrete Island (1994) 60\u003cbr\u003e Hello America (1994) 62\u003cbr\u003e  On Own Work: Stories and Collections 64\u003cbr\u003e “Storm- Wind” (1961) 65\u003cbr\u003e “You and Me and the Continuum” (1966) 65\u003cbr\u003e “End- Game” (1968) 66\u003cbr\u003e Vermilion Sands (1973\/1992) 68\u003cbr\u003e The Best Science Fiction of J. G. Ballard (1977) 70\u003cbr\u003e Le livre d’or de la science- fiction: J. G. Ballard (1980) 76\u003cbr\u003e Myths of the Near Future (1982) 78\u003cbr\u003e “Report on an Unidentified Space Station” (1985) 80\u003cbr\u003e J. G. Ballard: The Complete Short Stories (2001) 80\u003cbr\u003e  On Work of Others: Literature 82\u003cbr\u003e “Cataclysms and Dooms” in The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1977) 83\u003cbr\u003e Graham Greene (1978) 84\u003cbr\u003e James Joyce (1990) 86\u003cbr\u003e Nathanael West (1993) 87\u003cbr\u003e Aldous Huxley (1994) 89\u003cbr\u003e  On Work of Others: Art 91\u003cbr\u003e Eduardo Paolozzi (1970) 94\u003cbr\u003e Ikko Narahara (1980) 94\u003cbr\u003e Brigid Marlin (1990) 96\u003cbr\u003e Paul Delvaux (1996) 97\u003cbr\u003e Robert Smithson (1997) 99\u003cbr\u003e Tacita Dean (2001) 100\u003cbr\u003e Ed Ruscha (2001) 102\u003cbr\u003e Francis Bacon (2004) 103\u003cbr\u003e 4 FEATURES AND ESSAYS 105\u003cbr\u003e  Fictions of Every Kind (1971) 108\u003cbr\u003e  The Consumer Consumed (1971) 111\u003cbr\u003e  The Car, the Future (1971) 113\u003cbr\u003e  The Future of the Future (1977) 119\u003cbr\u003e  The Diary of a Mad Space Wife (1979) 123\u003cbr\u003e  In the Voyeur’s Gaze (1989) 127\u003cbr\u003e  The French Riviera Spoiled? Only by Fear and Snobbery (1995) 132\u003cbr\u003e  Airports: The Cities of the Future (1997) 136\u003cbr\u003e  Welcome to the Virtual City (2001) 139\u003cbr\u003e  The Prophet (2005) 141\u003cbr\u003e  A Handful of Dust (2006) 145\u003cbr\u003e  Shock and Gore (2007) 149\u003cbr\u003e  The Larval Stage of a New Kind of Architecture (2007) 152\u003cbr\u003e 5 LISTS, CAPTIONS, AND GLOSSARIES 157\u003cbr\u003e  Collector’s Choice: Outer Limits (1987) 159\u003cbr\u003e  Project for a Glossary of the Twentieth Century (1992) 164\u003cbr\u003e  Impressions of Speed (1998) 170\u003cbr\u003e  What Makes a Classic? (1999) 174\u003cbr\u003e 6 REVIEWS 177\u003cbr\u003e  Books 177\u003cbr\u003e The Science of Dreams by Edwin Diamond (1963) 179\u003cbr\u003e Down to Earth: Spectrum IV, edited by Kingsley Amis and Robert Conquest; Telepathist by John Brunner; I Love Galesburg in the Springtime by Jack Finney; An Arthur C. Clarke Omnibus (1965) 180\u003cbr\u003e Into the Drop Zone: Beyond Time by Michel Siffre (1965) 182\u003cbr\u003e The See- Through Brain: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (1970) 183\u003cbr\u003e A Personal View: Billion Year Spree by Brian Aldiss (1974) 185\u003cbr\u003e Zap Code: Approaching Oblivion by Harlan Ellison; Shadrach in the Furnace by Robert Silverberg; Medusa’s Children by Bob Shaw (1977) 191\u003cbr\u003e Killing Time: The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer (1979) 193\u003cbr\u003e New Means Worse: The Golden Age of Science Fiction, edited by Kingsley Amis (1981) 195\u003cbr\u003e Fallen Idol: Elvis by Albert Goldman (1981) 197\u003cbr\u003e Legend of Regret: Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald by Matthew J. Bruccoli (1982) 199\u003cbr\u003e Autopia or Autogeddon: Automania by Julian Pettifer and Nigel Turner; The Centenary of the Car, 1885– 1985 by Andrew Whyte; Rolls- Royce: The Complete Works by Mike Fox and Steve Smith (1984) 201\u003cbr\u003e Escape into the Seraglio: Hockney on Photography: Conversations by Paul Joyce (1988) 203\u003cbr\u003e Days Strung on a Syringe with a Thread of Blood: Literary Outlaw: The Life and Times of William S. Burroughs by Ted Morgan (1991) 206\u003cbr\u003e Chainsaw Biomassacre in Glorious Horoscope: Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography by Kitty Kelley (1991) 208\u003cbr\u003e Sermons from the Mount: Fates Worse Than Death by Kurt Vonnegut (1991) 211\u003cbr\u003e Rituals of a Skinny Dipper: Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero by Charles Sprawson (1992) 214\u003cbr\u003e Was the Holocaust Scripted by This Man? Marquis de Sade: A Biography by Maurice Lever (1993) 215\u003cbr\u003e Let the Women Have Lipstick and High Heels: Deng Xiaoping and the Making of Modern China by Richard Evans (1993) 217\u003cbr\u003e Mouse That Bores: Walt Disney: Hollywood’s Dark Prince by Marc Eliot (1994) 219\u003cbr\u003e The Puccini of Cinema Grows Up: Steven Spielberg: The Unauthorised Biography by John Baxter (1996) 221\u003cbr\u003e Weirdly Wise: Lynch on Lynch, edited by Chris Rodley (1997) 224\u003cbr\u003e Return of the Future: The First Dozen Titles in the Predictions Series Published by Phoenix House, London (1997) 227\u003cbr\u003e Sands of Time: The Beach: The History of Paradise on Earth by Lena Lincek and Gideon Bosker (1998) 230\u003cbr\u003e They’re Falling Out of the Sky: The Black Box: Cockpit Voice Recorder Accounts of In- Flight Accidents, edited by Malcolm MacPherson (1998) 233\u003cbr\u003e Reach for the Sky: Lindbergh by A. Scott Berg (1998) 235\u003cbr\u003e Analyst’s Couch Potato: Woody Allen: A Biography by John Baxter (1998) 238\u003cbr\u003e License to Kill: The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang (1999) 240\u003cbr\u003e Fashion Victim: Pages from the Glossies: Facsimiles 1956– 1998 by Helmut Newton (1999) 244\u003cbr\u003e The Maestro Who Campaigned Against His Greatest Work: The Enigma of\u003cbr\u003e Giorgio de Chirico by Margaret Crosland (1999) 246\u003cbr\u003e A Staircase of Corpses: Build My Gallows High by Geoffrey Homes (2001) 248\u003cbr\u003e Prophet of Our Present: Aldous Huxley: An English Intellectual by Nicholas Murray (2002) 250\u003cbr\u003e This Boy Does Talk. Who Is He? King of Cannes by Stephen Walker (2002) 253\u003cbr\u003e The Unlimited Dream Company: The Bad and the Beautiful: A Chronicle of Hollywood in the Fifties by Sam Kashner and Jennifer MacNair (2002) 256\u003cbr\u003e The Ultimate Sacrifice: Kamikaze: Japan’s Suicide Gods by Albert Axell and Hideaki Kase (2002) 259\u003cbr\u003e A World of Endless Summer: High Tide: News from a Warming World by Mark Lynas (2004) 261\u003cbr\u003e Flush with Talent: Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema by Matthew Sweet (2005) 263\u003cbr\u003e The Day of Reckoning: A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous, and Germany: Jekyll and Hyde by Sebastian Haffner (2005) 265\u003cbr\u003e  Films 269\u003cbr\u003e Hobbits in Space: Star Wars (1977) 270\u003cbr\u003e Blue Velvet (1993) 273\u003cbr\u003e The Third Man (2002) 274\u003cbr\u003e In Modern America, No Nightmare Is Forbidden: The Day After Tomorrow (2004) 275\u003cbr\u003e The Killer Inside: A History of Violence (2005) 276\u003cbr\u003e  Television 281\u003cbr\u003e In Cold Blood: C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation (2005) 282\u003cbr\u003e 7 NEW STATESMAN 287\u003cbr\u003e  Diary (1999) 289\u003cbr\u003e  Diary (2001) 291\u003cbr\u003e  Now Parliament Is Just Another Hypermarket (2005) 294\u003cbr\u003e  Diary: A Fascist’s Guide to the Premiership (2006) 297\u003cbr\u003e 8 FORUM DISCUSSIONS 301\u003cbr\u003e  The State of Fiction: A Symposium (1978) 303\u003cbr\u003e  Cyberpunk Forum (1988) 304\u003cbr\u003e  A Response to the Invitation to Respond (1991) 304\u003cbr\u003e  Nurse, the Screens (1998) 305\u003cbr\u003e 9 CAPSULE COMMENTARIES 309\u003cbr\u003e  The Magnificent Seven (1994) 310\u003cbr\u003e  Apocalypse How? (1995) 310\u003cbr\u003e  The Westway (2001) 310\u003cbr\u003e  My Perfect Beach (2002) 311\u003cbr\u003e  Writer’s Rooms (2007) 312\u003cbr\u003e 10 MEMOIR AND TRIBUTES 315\u003cbr\u003e  Remembering Crash (1990) 317\u003cbr\u003e  Unlocking the Past (1991) 318\u003cbr\u003e  My Favourite Books (1992) 323\u003cbr\u003e  Look Back at Empire (2006) 328\u003cbr\u003e  Eduardo Paolozzi (1987) 332\u003cbr\u003e  Brian Aldiss (1990) 333\u003cbr\u003e  Judith Merril (1992) 334\u003cbr\u003e  William S. Burroughs (1997) 337\u003cbr\u003e ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 339\u003cbr\u003e BIBLIOGRAPHY 341\u003cbr\u003e  Primary Sources 341\u003cbr\u003e  Suggested Further Reading 353\u003cbr\u003e INDEX 357\"China-born English writer Ballard (\u003ci\u003eEmpire of the Sun\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eCrash\u003c\/i\u003e) wrote nonfiction in addition to his novels and short stories...This volume of nonfiction, edited by literary scholar and novelist Blacklock (\u003ci\u003eThe Emergence of the Fourth Dimension\u003c\/i\u003e), spans decades and covers topics like consumerism, Salvador Dalí, science fiction, future technology, civilization, and everyday ironies. The book is arranged by type of document (essays, reviews, commentaries), and the materials in each chapter are thus arranged chronologically. Ballard provides fascinating cultural criticism; he notes in 1962 that the U.S. population will likely be bored by space exploration, as real-life astronauts are not fitted with the robots and machines customary in a Buck Rogers adventure. Ballard excels at intriguing juxtapositions of items and ideas, a surrealism in prose form. A general introduction brings biographical context to Ballard’s life and work, and each chapter provides a contextual framework for the pieces within...An eclectic collection of essays for scholars of 20th-century literature.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Library Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“If everything for Ballard is fiction, what makes for inclusion in a selection of his nonfiction? Aware of his challenge, Blacklock hopes to ‘illuminate the full range of Ballard’s activities as a reviewer, essayist, journalist, commentator, memoirist, provocateur, compiler of lists, and talking head.’ He achieves this handsomely.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Ballard is exceptionally prescient, capturing a world that didn’t yet fully exist or wasn’t visible to most.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eArtReview\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As George Orwell died in January 1950 and J. G. Ballard began to publish professionally in 1956 we can describe the first as the greatest author of the twentieth century, and Ballard as the greatest author of the second part of the twentieth.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Orwell Society\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eJames Graham “J.G.” Ballard (1930-2009) was a British author and journalist. Best known for his dystopic works of science fiction, his novels include \u003ci\u003eCrash\u003c\/i\u003e (1973) and \u003ci\u003eHigh-Rise\u003c\/i\u003e (1975). His semi-autobiographicalnovel \u003ci\u003eEmpire of the Sun\u003c\/i\u003e (1984) was adapted by Stephen Spielberg in the 1987 film of the same name. Luminous, wry, and arresting, Ballard’s writing endures as a touchstone for popular conceptions of post-apocalyptic landscapes, mass media, and emergent technologies. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMark Blacklock is Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of the cultural history \u003ci\u003eThe Emergence of the Fourth Dimensio\u003c\/i\u003en, and his most recent novel \u003ci\u003eHinton \u003c\/i\u003ewas longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction in 2021.","brand":"The MIT Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305242611941,"sku":"NP9780262048323","price":32.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780262048323.jpg?v=1767736317","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/selected-nonfiction-19622007-isbn-9780262048323","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}