Review of "The Influencing Machine" by Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld Item 16 - Finish 30 29 books

Since this is not just the first item from my list that I've posted about but also my first substantive post I thought I'd take this opportunity to explain a little about myself and this project. Firstly, I am an insatiable reader, it's not uncommon for me to be reading three or four books at one time (one for at home in the evening, one for at work, one to read in bed, etc.) This can also be a problem as it tends to take a greater amount of time to finish any of them unless I have sudden bout of insomnia. So, for this project I'm going to try to refocus myself and commit to reading only one book at a time, hopefully this combined with writing a short review will give me a better appreciation for the works at hand.

That being said, the book I've just finished is Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld's "The Influencing Machine". It's about how the media shapes the public and vice versa. You'd be hard pressed to find a better media critic than Gladstone and her direct journalistic style pairs well with Neufeld's cartooning (I almost didn't use that word as many illustrators balk at it, but a quick look at Neufeld's website confirms he uses it to describe himself), both get the point across in a straightforward and entertaining way but still thoughtful. They go between some nice visual metaphors and recreations of real people and events, I particularly enjoyed the chapter on biases and think it would serve many rhetoric students well:

This was one of the better freshman graphic novels that I've seen, which I'm sure is due in no small part to Neufeld's input but I believe it's largely due to Gladstone's own apparent love of the medium. She's always come off as something of nerd and long before it was cool to do so (I say that with nothing but respect and as a grown man who still reads comics, has a TARDIS on his desk at work and can recite the Big Lebowski from memory) and she plays it up here; using Spider-Man, Star Trek and The Matrix to make points or just for fun.

And that's the thing; it is fun. I gobbled the whole thing up in two sittings. Which leads to the other thing; I gobbled the whole thing up in two sittings. This sucker is light. But in the end it just left me wanting more, I expect I'll pick up the next book that Gladstone puts out, which hopefully will be soon.