William S. Burroughs was an American novelist, essayist, and performer, a pivotal figure of the Beat Generation and an influential postmodern author. His work, often drawing from personal experiences with drug addiction and violence, is characterized by sharp social critique and experimental literary techniques like the cut-up method. Burroughs gained notoriety for his novels that courted controversy and challenged the moral and political systems of his era. His influence extends beyond literature into popular culture, where he is lauded for his unique vision and subversive power.
The novella began as a story treatment for a proposed film adaptation of Alan E. Nourse's novel The Bladerunner. A later edition published in the 1980s changed the formatting of the title to Blade Runner, a movie. Burroughs' treatment is set in the early 21st century and involves mutated viruses and 'a medical-care apocalypse'. The term 'blade runner' referred to a smuggler of medical supplies, e.g. scalpels.
First published in 1963 and representing Burroughs's literary breakthrough in the UK, Dead Fingers Talk is, in the words of Burroughs scholar Prof. Oliver Harris, a prophetic work of haunting power, and is perhaps the most commercial and accessible of his works. Combining new material with selections from Naked Lunch and his cut-up novels The Soft Machine and The Ticket That Exploded, the book is also a fascinating precursor to remix and mash-up forms in art and music, which owe much to Burroughs's influence. This newly edited edition of Dead Fingers Talk, based on the restored text of the novel, will delight all Burroughs fans and lovers of experimental literature, and offer a new insight into the artistic process of one of the most original and influential writers of the twentieth century.
The book promises sheer pleasure and entertainment, as highlighted by the "Chicago Sun-Times." It captivates readers with its engaging narrative and delightful characters, ensuring a wonderfully entertaining experience throughout.
"Climate: Into the 21st Century" offers a collection of essays by top meteorological experts, detailing the global climate system of the 20th century. It highlights extreme climatic events, advancements in climate observation, and predictability. Illustrated and engaging, it's ideal for both general readers and educational use.
In Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs revealed his genius. In The Soft Machine he begins an adventure that will take us even further into the dark recesses of his imagination, a region where nothing is sacred, nothing taboo. Continuing his ferocious verbal assault on hatred, hype, poverty, war, bureaucracy, and addiction in all its forms, Burroughs gives us a surreal space odyssey through the wounded galaxies in a book only he could create.
William Burroughs died in August 1997, after a lifetime of notoriety. In his final years, he was writing only in his journals. The last nine months of his diaries are here, in Last Words, and they form a complex, rarely seen, personal portrait of Burroughs at the end of his life, coming to terms with aging and death.
A mix of autobiographical episodes and extraordinary Egyptian theology
Depicts the addict's life: his hallucinations, his ghostly nocturnal wanderings, his strange sexuality, and his hunger for the needle. Following its hero from his midwestern birthplace to New York, New Orleans, and Mexico City. Based on the author's own experiences
William S. Burroughs explores the reality of a selective plague threatening Earth, addressing the consequences of globalization for humanity long before September 11. The book features illustrations by Chris Kohlhöfer.
