BLACKSBURG, Va., Aug. 6, 2004 – Marshall Fishwick's latest book, Probing Popular Culture On and Off the Internet (Haworth Press, Inc.), promises to be one of the author’s best yet. Fishwick, a retired professor in interdisciplinary studies at Virginia Tech, said that "In Probing Popular Culture, we discover that popular culture has moved into every aspect of American life; politics, economics, society, entertainment, even family life. We have become a culture saturated with popular culture."
Renowned author Tom Wolfe writes this in the book's foreward, "In Probing Popular Culture On and Off the Internet, Dr. Marshall Fishwick presents an eye-opening examination of the Information Age's influence on what we do, how we live, and who we are. Peppered with quotes from influential figures ranging from Plato to P.T. Barnum, this book provides food for thought that will spark smart discussion about aspects of popular culture ranging from Henry Ford to Y2K, examining the cultural impact of the September 11 tragedy, and more."
Kathy Merlock Jackson, editor of The Journal of American Culture, says Fishwick’s latest is "written in a lively, readable style … Engages readers from the get-go, compelling them to think. Fishwick demonstrates his grasp of how the various elements of our popular culture coexist, how they have developed over time, and what they mean. Impressive in its sweep, this book leaves no aspect of our culture unexamined."
"For those who have an interest in using this material in class or in going further in the subjects covered, the book includes an appendix on electronic resources, a good section on further reading, and notes for each of the chapters," said Marvin Wachman, president emeritus of Temple University.
Charles Boewe, former director of Fulbright Foundations in Iran, Pakistan, and India, writes "In the shelfful of books he has published over the past five decades, Marshall Fishwick has helped to make popular the study of popular culture. In this new book he proves the immediate past — the twentieth century-asking a thousand questions of it that the twenty-first century will need to answer."
Fishwick holds several honorary degrees and teaching awards. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Culture Association and is a co-founder of the Popular Culture Association. Having served as Fulbright Distinguished Professor in Denmark, Italy, Germany, Korea, and India, he helped establish the American Studies Research Center in Hyerabad, India, which now houses the largest collection of American books in Asia. Fishwick is the author of many books, including Popular Culture in a New Age, American Heroes: Myth and Reality, Icons of Popular Culture, Go and Catch a Falling Star, and Popular Culture: Cavespace to Cyberspace.