Marvelous Clouds – Toward a Philosophy of Elemental Media

Good general reference manual and overview of media studies in first chapters, yet the hyperbolic writing style and theologicalcategories hung onto natural science concepts are well, rough sailin', becoming downright annoying alongside an endless roster of facts and figures of secondary sources with little development of any original ideas. He claims he is following McLuhan lead, and clearly hopes to write a popular book, yet he lacks the originality and intelligence of McLuhan. Lastly, only one chapter actually deals with weather, so it is misleading to suggest the book deals with climate or ecology or earth science as a category of media, it doesn't. The book does even make the connection between consumerism, digital devices, electronic and plastic waste and impacts on environment. This alone places Peters' thought as firmly in the romantic tradition, hence the title Marvelous Clouds, the airiness of Being and other such high-sounding terminology never manages to convince or connect with any urgent debates. In fact, it unwittingly shows how the Western philosophical tradition is of any use in grappling with globalized world resources.

Excellent book, great subject, well written, good print quality.

If this book is even remotely typical of what university professors are up to these days, I want to go back to school. Prof. Peters's learning astonishes at every turn of the page. But what astonishes me even more is the wondrous fabric he weaves from it. His inspirations include such prickly visionaries as Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, and Friedrich Kittler. Prof. Peters takes it all in (along with so much more) and relates his own vision with remarkable human understanding and generosity of spirit. There's a fundamental human decency to his risky voyage of exploration that I find deeply appealing. It's one of those rare books that elevates me.Of course it won't be to everyone's taste. Although it's engagingly written, I had to up my intellectual game to the max. Hard work, but oh, so worth it!

A rare glimpse into a brilliant mind that deconstructs the most fundamental aspects of what we mean by media while coherently bringing together seemingly disparate ideas and sources. A must-read for all scholars of communications, philosophy, and general readers who want to challenge their basic assumptions of the world around them.

it's already on my reading cue.