Travels in Hyperreality (Harvest Book)
by Umberto Eco
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Travels in Hyperreality.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 451)
Read in October, 2007
A great book. The man's a total genius, but what I liked most about this cikkectuib of essays is the way Eco's humanity comes through, and how it is balanced against his sagacity. A series of political essays reveal a desire for disinterested situational analysis over partisanship; book reviews turn into opportunities for mild academic trash-talking; and his grumpy-old-man side emerges in talking about soccer and movies. Also included is a brilliant close-watching deconstruction of 'Casablanca' ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
hmmm. nice read until i got bored with an idea that was beat to death. eco seems to be in love with his own ability to draw obvious conclusions. and the conclusions start to lack while the pretention grows. i couldn't finish it--but the first half was good, so i gave it three stars. eco's main event seems to me to be "the name of the rose" afterwhich he becomes "umberto eco" and starts to rehearse that act a bit too much.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
recommends it for:
Zeitgeistophiles, sniffy aesthetes and permutations thereof
Patchy collection of essays with 1 or 2 winners. Eco has a rather breezy approach to his assay of American popular culture but he hits the mark in a few places. His bemusement is a little tinny at times but he at least seems to enjoy himself. The titular essay provides the most substance here. His comparison of William Randolph Hearst's California Shangrilah to Walt Disney's theme parks is spot on. Americans do like it authentically fake. The briefest of visits to Las Vegas should prove that.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in May, 2008
recommended to Derek by:
Found it at a used bookstore, said "what the hell?"recommends it for: European intellectuals
Doing my best to slog through this... I've read some of Eco's stuff in semiotics and thought I'd give this book of essays on contemporary culture a try... though I find myself drifting off when I start hearing talk about certain things being more "real" than others. It strikes me as a little flighty and postmodernish, though I suppose I'd like it more if I'd had more exposure to the various terms d'art he uses.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
Humorous cultural theory. Sometimes Eco gets down to some heavy stuff, like in his critique of Foucalt's and Barthes's Language=power theories. But many of these essays read like intellectual and entertaining editorials (many of them were written for Italian newspapers), without the dry, dumbed-down polemical thrust you might encounter in the New York Times. Barthes "Mythologies" is approximate.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
Working my way through this one... slowly. I just finished the first essay on America's obsession with hyperrealism, the fetishization of places that preserve a "better" (read= more real than real) version of historical truth.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Yes, you read right...hyperreality (who knew there was such a thing?). Had to read several chapters for a class. Used a chapter on neomedievalism for a paper.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
If you only read this text for the essay on how the style of pants we wear coralates to our understanding of texts, you will have had much to think about.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Very readable and insightful! Love the writing on blue jeans and Disneyworld even though sometimes I wonder what this Euronerd really knows about America
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2005
A world we're living is a world full of hiper-realities. Sayang gw baca yang versi Indonesia yang terjemahannya agak-agak membingungkan.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1996
The essay on the movie Casablanca is an absolute must-read, as well as the essay on blue jeans, and many others. Eco is brilliant.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
totally fun- and the bit at the end about oral roberts university nearly killed me through laughter.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Buku ini di rekomen ama St. Gokil alias pak Bob, terus ... zzz..zzzzz...zzzzzzz...zzzz..
Like this review?
yes
2 comments
Read in January, 1989
recommended to Valerie by:
UCSC
Slogging through semiotics in translation is a joy, when you are reading Eco.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
non-fiction fans, people who like to learn
This guy has opinions almost as erratic as his subject matter! I love it!
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1993
another good critical theory gateway text - Eco is wittier than Barthes.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
i kinda like misraednigs better more hyperfun
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
