New York Times' Front Page Review
William Gibson is known primarily as a novelist, from his ground-breaking first novel, Neuromancer, which was published in 1984 and was credited with having described the internet and cyberspace before any such things existed, to his more recent contemporary bestsellers Pattern Recognition, Spook Country, and Zero History. During those nearly thirty years, though, Gibson has been sought out by wildly varying publications, from major magazines to more obscure and out-of-print sources, for his insights into contemporary culture on everything from the future of technology to the work of George Orwell, from compulsive online watch collecting to drug trafficking in Singapore.
Gibson has always had the keen ability to spot our
technological and cultural trajectory in both his fiction and nonfiction and DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR grants
readers a privileged view into the mind of the writer whose thinking has shaped
not only a generation of writers, but our entire culture. This first collection
of Gibson’s nonfiction includes an 
introduction by the author and essays and
articles published over the course of 30 years. Taken together, these pieces
offer perspective into the ideas that fuel his novels: futurity, technology,
history, connectivity.
Gibson riffs on the ways our lives are “soundtracked” by the music and culture around us for Rolling Stone; he weighs in on the internet for the New York Times Magazine; and describes the wonders of Tokyo for Wired. One of his major pieces, “Disneyland with the Death Penalty,” a controversial article about Singapore, resulted in Wired being banned from that country and incited a strong critical response. Throughout this volume, Gibson shows himself at the forefront of our rapidly transforming, endlessly beguiling culture, and immerses himself in the ideas, themes, and obsessions at the heart of his novels.
DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR is the central pillar to the body of work of “one of the most astute and engaging commentators on our astonishing, chaotic present” (The Washington Post Book World).
William Gibson is the author of ten previous books. His 1984 debut novel, Neuromancer, was the first novel to win the three top science fiction prizes—the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award. He is also a co-author of the novel The Difference Engine, written with Bruce Sterling. Originally from South Carolina, Gibson lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with his family.
We’re incredibly excited to welcome him at The Booksmith once again.
Reserved seats are available with the purchase of Distrust That Particular Flavor from The Booksmith, in advance by request or from January 3 in the store. Please phone (415-863-8688), email (orders@booksmith.com), or place your order online (www.booksmith.com). Reserved seats available while supplies last.
