The inner man
Subtitle: the life of J.G. Ballard
By: John Baxter
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; Orion Publishing Group, Limited
Published: 2011
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 377
ISBN-13: 9780297863526
Subjects: English Novelists; Biography
Description: Uniquely among his contemporaries, Ballard understood and exploited the language of advertising and promotion. Because of him, the term 'inner space' and phrases like 'the only alien planet is Earth' passed into the language. So did the adjective 'Ballardian' - 'resembling or suggestive of the conditions described in Ballard's novels and stories, esp. dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments'.In this first biography, John Baxter draws on an admiration of and acquaintance with Ballard that began when they were writers for the same 1960s science fiction magazines. With the help of the few people whom he admitted to his often hermit-like existence, it illuminates the troubled reality behind the urbane and amiable facade of a man who was proud to describe himself as 'psychopathic'.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.