George Landow's widely acclaimed Hypertext was the first book to bring together the worlds of literary theory and computer technology to explore the implications of giving readers instant, easy access to a virtual library of sources as well as unprecedented control of what and how they read. In hypermedia, Landow saw in a strikingly literal embodiment of many major points of contemporary literary theory, particularly Derrida's idea of de-centering and Barthes's conception of the readerly versus writerly text. Now, in this second edition, Landow shifts the focus from Intermedia to Microcosm, Storyspace, and the World-Wide Web. He offers new, specific information about kinds of hypertext, different modes of linking, attitudes toward technology, and the proliferation of pornography and gambling on the Internet. He also comments extensively on the rhetoric and stylistics of writing in and with hypermedia. For critics, students, artists, and writers, this new edition will remain an invaluable resource. Landow['s] . . . presentation is measured, experiential, lucid, moderate, and sensible. He merely points out that the concept'hypertext' lets us test some concepts associated with critical theory, and gracefully shows how the technology is contributing to reconfigurations of text, author, narrative, and (literary) education.--Post Modern Culture, reviewing the first edition Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.