The Medium is the Message

What can one not find in the trash or on the sidewalks of New York City? This week I stopped to check out a box of books on First Avenue. Most of the books were in French, by authors I've never heard of.

One book I noticed was by Marshall McLuhan, intellectual, critic and the person responsible for creating (more than anyone else), the field of media and (mass-) communication studies, and who (some argue) anticipated the Internet 30 years before its creation. Of his choice and memorable phrases, "the global village" and "the medium is the message" are two of the most memorable.

To my surprise, I find that the book is signed by McLuhan (see above)...

...and it is a first edition (see above). Who throws out signed first editions of books by the 20th century's greatest communications theorist?