Work
The Melancholy of Civilization
Publication date: 2002/01/01
From the tiniest traces of civilization, a vast melancholy comes into view.
AIBO, news of the Crown Princess’s pregnancy, simplified characters, foot-and-mouth disease, lock-picking, Major League Baseball, organ transplants, global terrorism, processed foods... The things, technologies, phenomena, events, and information that surround us—these small traces of civilization reveal a vast underlying melancholy.
With lucid logic, an exceptional perspective, and a sharp sensibility, the author exposes the subtle deceptions hidden in everyday life.
A collection of forty-nine essays on civilization and its discontents, including twenty-four pieces never before published in book form.