The Demon of Writing: Powers and Failures of Paperwork
Published by Zone Books, Brooklyn, New York, 2012
- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: Black's Fine Books & Manuscripts, Toronto, ON, CanadaBlack's Fine Books & Manuscripts
AbeBooks seller since February 11, 2019
Condition: Used
£ 23.35
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
pp. 182. 8vo. Black cloth over boards, gilt lettering to the spine. Black-and-white illustrations. No detectable flaws with extremities and contents entirely without blemish; fine and housed in fine dustjacket. Appears unread; as new. Since the middle of the eighteenth century, political thinkers of all kinds radical and reactionary, professional and amateur have been complaining about "bureaucracy." But what, exactly, is all this complaining about? The Demon of Writing is a critical history and theory of one of the most ubiquitous, least understood forms of media: paperwork. States rely on records to tax and spend, protect and serve, discipline and punish. But time and again this paperwork proves to be unreliable. Examining episodes from the story of a clerk who lost his job and then his mind in the French Revolution to Roland Barthes’s brief stint as a university administrator, the book reveals the powers, failures, and even pleasures of paperwork. Many of its complexities, the book argues, have been obscured by the comic-paranoid style that characterizes so many of our criticisms of bureaucracy. At the same time, the book outlines a new theory of what Marx called the "bureaucratic medium." Returning first to Marx, then to Freud, The Demon of Writing argues that this theory of paperwork must be attentive to both praxis and parapraxis.…
Seller Inventory # 5190
- Title
- The Demon of Writing: Powers and Failures of Paperwork
- Author
- Kafka, Ben
- Publisher
- Zone Books, Brooklyn, New York
- Publication year
- 2012
- Dust jacket
- Dust Jacket Included
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 1935408267
- ISBN 13
- 9781935408260
- Edition
- First Edition, First Printing.
- Seller catalogs
- Literary Criticism & Biography
Since the middle of the eighteenth century, political thinkers of all kinds ― radical and reactionary, professional and amateur ― have been complaining about “bureaucracy.” But what, exactly, is all this complaining about?
The Demon of Writing is a critical history and theory of one of the most ubiquitous, least understood forms of media: paperwork. States rely on records to tax and spend, protect and serve, discipline and punish. But time and again this paperwork proves to be unreliable. Examining episodes from the story of a clerk who lost his job and then his mind in the French Revolution to Roland Barthes’s brief stint as a university administrator, the book reveals the powers, failures, and even pleasures of paperwork. Many of its complexities, the book argues, have been obscured by the comic-paranoid style that characterizes so many of our criticisms of bureaucracy. At the same time, the book outlines a new theory of what Marx called the “bureaucratic medium.” Returning first to Marx, then to Freud, The Demon of Writing argues that this theory of paperwork must be attentive to both praxis and parapraxis.
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About the Author
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Black's Fine Books & Manuscripts
Toronto, ON, Canada
AbeBooks seller since February 11, 2019
Shipping rates from Canada to U.S.A.
| Item | 7 to 60 business days | 7 to 18 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 12.09 | £ 34.00 |
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We are a rare book firm specializing in a diverse range of works on paper. With nearly two decades of experience, we are pleased to offer a wide selection of over 25,000 scarce and unique titles, from the retrospective to the modern. Our specialisms include, but are not limited to, antiquarian and fine bindings, manuscripts, ephemera, Canadiana, culinaria, Indigenous studies, and socialist literature. We are also home to one of the nation’s largest private collections of Ukrainian émigré publications. Our Services & Expertise: We actively buy, sell and place rare and out-of-print books, as well as manuscripts, printed ephemera, and archival collections in Canada, the United States, and Europe. In addition, our practice is actively engaged in the thoughtful placement and stewardship of literary and institutional archives, and we provide USPAP compliant monetary appraisals for universities, museums, and private clients. Our Clients: We are proud to serve a diverse and distinguished clientele. Our clients have included Library and Archives Canada, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, McGill University, McMaster University, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, University of Alberta (Bruce Peel Special Collections), The British Library, and The Library of Congress, among others. Curated lists are issued periodically and may be viewed at www.blacksbooks.ca.…
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