Product Description

This book explores the grim underside of America's cult of the automobile and the frequently conspiratorial speculations that arise whenever people die in cars. Looking at fatal celebrity car accidents and other examples of death by automobile through personal memoir and forensic reports, cultural critics ponder people's fascination with car crashes. They explore car crash conspiracy theories, the automobile as a site of murder, car crash films, and the notion of the "accident." The book features original essays by such underground icons as Kenneth Anger and Adam Parfrey. Essays cover the deaths of Albert Camus, Jackson Pollock, James Dean, Jayne Mansfield, Princess Diana, Princess Grace, and Mary Jo Kopechine, amongst others.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1311282 in Books
• Published on: 2002-01-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

From Library Journal

Brottman (literature, Maryland Inst. Coll. of Art) has put together an eclectic mix of essays related, however tangentially, to the phenomenon of car crashes in Western culture. The essays range from autobiographical accounts to accident investigation reports, reports of serial killers, and scholarly treatments of the deaths of Princess Diana and Mary Jo Kopechne. While many of the essays are serious and quite scholarly, some seem to be included for shock value only. For example, the two autopsy reports of deaths related to erotic activities with cars include no explanations of why they are significant for this kind of study and how they relate to the topics discussed in the other essays. Also, the book includes several grisly photographs that seem gratuitous and add little to the text. What the publishers tout as the "underside of America's cult of the automobile" is an area worthy of studious examination, but this book adds little to the body of knowledge. Not recommended. Mark Bay, Hagan Memorial Lib., Cumberland Coll., Williamsburg, KY

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
"What gets opened up to view in these disturbing, sometimes spectacular collisions is not just the statistical importance and multiple meanings of four-wheeled trauma for our culture today, but our insistent curiosity, fascination and horror—the shock or thrill of recognition, empathy or sadism or just the ubiquitous idling will to gawk that draws us alternately to the crash scene and these pages." -- Dick Hebdige, author of Subculture: The Meaning of Style and Hiding in the Light: On Images and Things

A stimulating collection...
-South Atlantic Review
-- Review

Review

Customer Reviews

Fantastic Highs but Sporadic
I agree with the previous reviewer that this is a mixed bag. Some of the essays are extremely technical; others extremely autobiographical. A number of them relate only tangentally. BUT all of them do relate, and the result is like a collage, adding to our understanding. Brotman, the editor, seems to have included what was interesting, even if it was a little off-topic. the book has a taste for the selacious at times, and I think this is what the criticisms of it boil down to. Some of the essays are just plain fun, and really enjoyable. In this large and varied book, there's an essay by Kenneth Anger, a section on crimes, and a fun section on conspiracies involving car crashes. The worst essays are so bizarre (like Ulmer's "Prototype for a MEmorial") or excessively dry (like T. Williams' "Heart Like a Wheel" chapter) and can easily be skipped. But the best (like S.J. Schneider's essay on how Jackson Pollock's crash ironically and morbidly reflected his art, or Julian Darius' intoxicatingly allusive "Car Crash Crucifixion Culture") are truly fascinating reads. Brotman himself has an essay and a half (one is a collaboration) in the CAR CRASH CINEMA section. In conclusion, this is hardly a definitive look at car crashes, but I don't think that it pretends to be. It's highs are fantastically high and will stick with you. Its lows can be skimmed or skipped.

Hope this helps.

general thoughts
I bought this book because of Julian Darius's essay, "Car Crash Crucifixion Culture", which I'd heard about online on message boards. I thought it was great, and that the book was good overall, though I agree that it was inconsistent.

Great Fun!!
This book is really great fun, although it's inconsistent. If you want a hodgepodge of work, some utterly fantastic and some unreadable, this is a great book -- and, even if only half the pages are good (and more than that are!), this is a good value. From looking at the Popemobile to Ballard's / cronenburg's CRASH, this has a great scope. Again, the quality overall is inconsistent BUT the overall package is terrific.

Of particular note is something called "Car Crash CRUCIFIXION Culture" by one Julian Darius. I can't figure out if it's blasphemous or if it's playful (as the title would suggst, i think..) But it's the funnest informed rant I've ever read...