Semiotics: The Basics,   ISBN:9780415363761

Customer Rating: 

This introduction to semiotics is lucid and compelling. It provides the intelligent reader with a clear analysis of terminology, positions, and developments. Chandler focuses on structuralism, not on poststructuralism, but this is an asset, because it provides the background necessary to understand later thinkers. The other reviews explain well Chandler's strengths.

KINDLE USERS: Some aspects of the book are frustrating. Paragraphs are not indented, the table of contents is not formatted well, and navigation from one chapter to another is not as good as it might be. This book, like many others, shows how unnecessarily indebted the Kindle model is to the print version. Special terms are highlighted, rightly so, but there is no connection between the narrative and the glossary of terms that resides in the back. References are given in author-date format, but no hyperlink is there, to take you to the bibliography. The index retains the original page numbers, which could be helpful for someone writing a paper and getting documentation down. But entries with multiple references do not distinguish between the one or two very important passages and the remaining ancillary discussions. I found a few typographical errors.

Customer Rating: 

As intended, this is a very good summary of Semiotics and Structuralism. I discovered the book on the Web and decided that it is worth buying it in book format as an excellent reference to keep around. The book seems to contain more information and seems to have gone through some good editing. My only criticism is about its organization -- maybe Mr. Chandler could have thought of a more narrative organization where one concept gives way to the next, although I am very aware that the subject matter is very complex to control.

I firmly believe that these extremely important "diagnostic" and critical approaches of the 20th century will make (and, I think, are making) a come back. I am mostly interested in creation of contemporary dance and theatre and I read about semiotics and structuralism with a very pragmatic, worldly eye. In that respect, I believe that post-Barthes French thinkers diluted the issues towards pure speculation and inapplicable and frequently unintelligible brain gymnastics and denied their methodological aspects for use in linguistics, anthropolgy, film, etc. I have not been able to deduct practical benefits from the critical movements of the past 30 years either.

Customer Rating: 

I have read maybe a dozen books about semiotics and I must say this is the best yet. It is both easy to understand and surprisingly comprehensive given the topic. His book is so good that I bought the second edition of the book when it came out even though its available for free online. My sister is even using this book for as part of the required readings for a graduate level university course she is teaching and I know she isn't the only professor on the faculty to do so.