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© 2026 Juvoni Beckford

←All books

Design & UX · 1967

The Medium is the Massage

Marshall Mcluhan Quientin Fiore

The Medium is the Massage Cover
Rating
5.5/10
Difficulty
Moderate
Read time
4 hours
Best in
  • Kindle
  • Print

159 pagesRead Jul 10, 2016Staying power: Lasting influence

by Juvoni Beckford·@juvoni

Before readingWhy I picked it up

I have a love hate relationship with the media, because it skews more towards the hate side, I've invested some time and resources into learning more about media. Maybe I can understand it a little better and not react so sharply when media companies do things that make me feel pessimistic towards humanity. Hopefully, with more knowledge I can also better navigate media in the future, when I need it. This was recommended as a classic book.

After readingPosted September 11, 2016

A vibrant collection of ideas and images in a condensed format representing some of Marshall McLuhan's core ideas from Understanding Media. Writing in the context of the changing media landscape due to new technologies, this was an interesting view of what a contrarian would think would shake up the media industry.

I found it this statement interesting as it is playing out even today: "Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication." At times the images were distracting and made me feel lost in the book; in a bad way. It lacked depth and I will probably read Understanding Media so I can have a fuller picture of Marshall McLuhan's ideas.

Three reasons to read it

  1. 01Insightful 1960s perspective of where marking and media is heading towards.
  2. 02A book that uses media to explain media.
  3. 03History on the evolution of media and it's effects.

Notable quotesMarshall McLuhanMore in Quotes

  1. 01

    “There is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening.”

  2. 02

    “The ear favours no particular “point of view.” We are enveloped by sound.”

  3. 03

    “All media work us over completely.”

Notes for this book are still being transcribed.

←PreviousThe War of ArtSteven PressfieldNext→On the Shortness of LifeSeneca
Buy on AmazonAffiliate ↗

No affiliate link·Goodreads

Awards

  • Book Hangover

    It stayed with me for days, and I couldn't start another book.

  • Mind Quake

    It shook how I see something big, while I was still reading.

  • Title Better Than Book

    Great title. The book never caught up to it.

Related Books

Buy on AmazonAffiliate ↗

No affiliate link·Goodreads

Awards

  • Book Hangover

    It stayed with me for days, and I couldn't start another book.

  • Mind Quake

    It shook how I see something big, while I was still reading.

  • Title Better Than Book

    Great title. The book never caught up to it.

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Tribe, The Giver and The War of Art.

Related books

The Medium is the Massage cover, this bookTribeThe GiverThe War of ArtThis bookAlso shares a category

Tribe, The Giver and The War of Art.