For those not in the know, RE/Search was part of the underground publishing movement of the 70s through 90s, in which small independent publishers - many of them run out of homes and apartments - contributed greatly to the print counterculture of the end of the 20th century.

The books published by RE/Search exhibited the kind of layout and format popular in the zine movement, populated by fringe artists eager to share their visions and passions not fit for mainstream commercialism. Issue 8/9, dedicated to cult icon author J.G. Ballard, has the feel of the thick, photo-copied fanzines of the time period, assembling previous interviews and eclectic materials both from and by the publication's focus.

Chock full of materials that were potentially invaluable to a pre-internet audience, the book is divided into four main sections: Interviews with the author, works by the author both Fiction and Non-Fiction, then a final autobiographical and bibliographical wrap-up.

For me, the interviews with Ballard were the most insightful and interesting, witnessing intelligent people musing about the future implications of mass media from the very future they are positing. Ballard's ruminations of the advancement of media technology is especially gripping, as in some ways he seems to predict the YouTube culture and the increased ability of the average individual to not only actively create their own reality, but to broadcast it as reality to others.

My least favorite part would be the biographical section, but this has more to do with my own lack of interest in author histories than Ballard's own life story.

Overall, an interesting read about Ballard, but probably more interesting as a snapshot of the history of counterculture publishing as a whole. ( )

A compilation of Ballard's zine-type artwork and some short stories, along with many interviews and essays with JGB as the subject. These are accompanied by Ballardian photographs (rusting rocket boosters, drained swimming pools), and other cool bits and pieces such as an enumeration of the books on Ballard's shelf at home. ( )