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Whatever; it works. Kahney, author of the bestselling "The Cult of Mac," and who is also wired News's Apple reporter, endeavors to examine the world of the iPod, chronicle its meteoric rise to fame and fortune, and analyze the culture that has sprung up around it.
This is not a book aimed at tech-geeks. There is very little discussion of the finer points of iPod engineering and software programming. It is primarily focused on the iPod's cultural and sociological impact - the people who use iPods and what they do with them rather than the hardware - and thus should appeal to a readership demographic as broad as the iPod phenomenon itself, which includes a spectrum from your kid sister to the President of the United States. If you are at all into the iPod, you'll find The Cult of iPod an enjoyable read.
Getting back to the book-as-Website analogy, while I imagine that some will read "The Cult Of iPod" in conventional fashion, starting at the beginning and reading through to the end, if ever there was of book ideal for browsing, this is it. If you're familiar with Stuart Brand's "Whole Earth Catalog" series, you have a rough idea of a motif.
Consequently, there is no consistent stylistic theme for the book's appearance. The style and format changes from page to page and topic to topic, beginning with the Table Of Contents, which is formatted like ann iTunes library playlist. Clever touch setting the stage for what follows. There are a vast array of photos, cartoons, other graphic art, diagrams, and collages - a veritable feast for the eyes.
That said, The Cult Of iPod "does have structure, with eight chapters, the first of which, "iPods For All", for examines what Kahney describes as "the iPod's inauspicious introduction by Steve Jobs," who somewhat unconvincingly at the time called "a breakthrough device." Probably even he never imagined how prophetic those words would turn out to be.
Chapter 2, "New Listening Habits," delves into the way that the iPod has altered how our culture relates to music, with particular focus on "shuffling," both the mode which has been available in iPods from day one, and the iPod shuffle in which it is the only mode available.
Chapter 3, "A Star Is Born: The Making Of The iPod" dips toes into the engineering part of the story, with a profile of Tony Fadell, who Kahney contends is the true "unacknowledged father of the iPod," As well as a discussion of the various suppliers of different iPod components and a brief discussion on the background of iPod software.
Chapter 4, "Spreading The Word Of iPod: Runaway Word of Mouth," returns to the book's central sociocultural focus, observing that Apple has spent relatively little money promoting the iPod allowing fans and enthusiastic tech and entertainment media to take the proverbial ball and run with it. Also covered in this chapter are celebrity iPods, fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld's amazing collection of more than 70 iPods, and a profile of the broader iPod user demographic.
Chapter 5, iPod, uPod, everybody Pod," explains how the iPod has revolutionized the world of DJ (increasingly MP3J), Club, and party culture, as well as the little jukebox's unintended facility for copying and storing data of any sort (e.g.: software piracy), various other unorthodox iPod activities, hacks, and and customizations, and iPod lifestyle accessories such as iPod socks.
Chapter 6, "Inspiring The Imagination," contains a gallery of iPod photos from around the world, a gaggle of especially interesting and innovative iPod accessories, the growing phenomenon of iPod jacking (strangers plugging into each other’s iPods to discover new music), and the iPod in street/commuter culture.
Chapter 7, "Spend, Spend, Spend, (on iPod Accessories)" discusses the vast universe of iPod add-ons and companion products, from $10 cases to $4,500 tube amps and everything in between, as well as the iPod automotive tie-in, new business ventures built around the iPod, iPods for infants, iPod fashion, iPod Websites, iPod cases, iPod speakers, and yes, a two-page spread on that tube amp.
Chapter 8, "I Want To Hold Your Handheld: Cultural Impact," summarizes the profound effect the iPod has had on early 21st century popular culture, especially of course popular music culture. In this final chapter, Kahney examines what he calls "playlistism" (discrimination based not on race, sex, or religion, but on someone is terrible taste in music), and notes that some 80 percent of Microsoft employees own iPods (much to Bill Gates' chagrin?), a sidebar on iPod etiquette, the U2 iPod cobranding deal, academic research into the iPod as a cultural paradigm-buster, and much more.
There is also a four page Index.
Criticisms? To say I'm not crazy about the cover design would be an understatement. It's drab and muddy-brown, generally unattractive. For some reason puts me in mind of something from a Kafka novel. I would have chosen much brighter and more upbeat look by preference.
If you're an iPod fan, you're going to want this book. Like its inspiration and subject, it's different, entertaining, and cool, and at $24.95 it won't bust your wallet.
The Cult of iPod
by Leander Kahney
November 2005, 160 pp.
4-color
$24.95
ISBN 1-59327-066-6
For more information, visit:
http://www.www.nostarch.com
Charles W. Moore
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