romthefarlefttothefarright,talkradiototheop-edpage,moreandmoreAmericansbelievethatthesocialfabricisunraveling.Celebrityworshipandmediafrenzy,suicidalcultistsandheavilyarmedsecessionists-modernlifeseemstohavebecomea"pyrotechnicinsanitarium,"toborrowaturn-of-the-centurynameforConeyIsland.MarkDeryelucidatesthemeaningtoourmadness,deconstructingAmericanculturefrommainstreamforceslikeDisneyandNiketofringephenomenaliketheUnabomberandalieninvaders.Ourmillennialangst,heargues,isaproductofapervasiveculturalanxiety-acombinationofthesocialandeconomicupheavalwroughtbyglobalcapitalismandtheparanoiafannedbymediasensationalism.

ThePyrotechnicInsanitarium

isatheme-parkridethroughtheextremesofAmerican9ulture.As

TheAtlanticMonthly

haswritten,"MarkDeryconfirmsonceagainwhatwritersa.!]dthinkersasdisparateasNathanaelWest,FyodorDostoyevsky,SigmundFreud,andOliverSackshave~Ireadyshownus:thebestplacetoexplorethehumanconditionisatitsoutermargins,itspathologicalextremes."

c'...---

"Acrimoniouslyelightful,carefullystudiedscrutiniesofcurrentextreme

behaviors...registeringtheevolutionofaprofoundsea-change~IIofu!!

senseatsomelevel."-GregBurkman,

TheSeattleTimes

"Anexhilarating,dissonantride...Dery,oneofourmostastlJtecon~elT!por~culturalcritics...relisheshisroleascuratorofAmerica'sbulgingcabinet9fhorrors....Forallthefuntobehadhere,though,hiswarnJngofthedire

consequenceswefaceifweturnour'eyesawayfromwhat'~beforeus

...

comesthroughloudandclear."DavidHudson,

Salon

::£~-.-

-.-

MARKDERYmarkdery@well.com)

isaculturalcriticwhosewritingsonfringecultureand

newmediahaveappearedin

TheNewYorkTimesMagazine,RollingStone,Wired,TheVillageVoice,Feed,Salon,

and

Suck.

Heedited

RameWars,

acollectionofessaysoncyberculture,andistheauthorof

EscapeVelocity:Cyberculture

theEnd

theCentury.

HelivesinNewYork'sHudsonRivervalley.

CoverdesignbyEVANGAFFNEYCoverphotographcourtesyARCHIVEPHOTOSGrovePressbooksaredistributedbyPublishersGroupWestPrintedintheU.S.A.0100

Tll

0-8021-3670-2

Praise

for

ThePyrotechnicInsanitarium

"ThePyrotechnicnsanitarium

isbothhighlyentertaininganddeeplydisturbinginawaythatMarkDeryhasmadehisown.Theever-growingpathologiesofmillennialAmericashowupclearlyontheX-rayscreenofhispenetratinganalysis.Racilywritten,andfilledwithshrewdinsights,thisguidebooktothemadhouseofthemodemworldisessentialreading."-J.G.Ballard,authorof

Crash

"Dery...

ininesJuliaKristevaandEntertainmentWeekly

withequalverve....Aprovocativeworkofculturalcriticism."-ScottStossel,

TheAtlanticMonthly

"WithclarityandforceMarkDeryhascapturedthetoneofourtimes,tak-ingusonadizzyingroller-coasterridethroughthechaosofthemodernworld.AchoicecontributiontothestudyofAmericanculture."-StuartEwen,authorof

AllConsumin8Ima8es

"Deryprovesaprovocativeandcuttinglyhumorousguide...[with]aparticularbrillianceforcollectingculturaldetritusandbringingunseenconnectionstolight."-TomVanderbilt,

Wired

"Dery

...

marshalsavastpopvocabularywithcasywit."-JamesPoniewozik,

TheNewYorkTimes

Book

Review

"Ahootofa.read,aneye-openerthatpokesfunatbothstuffed-shirtpost-modernintellectualismandcapitalistexcesswithequalglee."-E.Burns,

TheSanFranciscoBayGuardian

"MarkDeryisasaneguidetosomeveryinsanetimes.HehasagoodeyeforthemostbizarreandgrotesqueelementsofcontemporaryAmericancul-ture....Butwhateverthesubject,Derydeftlyplacesitinthelargercontextofmassivesocialandeconomicchange.

ThePyrotechnicnsanitarium