Terror from the Air

by Peter Sloterdijk

According to Peter Sloterdijk, the twentieth century started on a specific day and place: April 22, 1915, at Ypres in West Flanders. That day, the German army used a chlorine gas meant to exterminate... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1584350725
• ISBN13: 9781584350729
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Semiotext(e)
• Length: 111 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.9" x 8.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Intro to Sloterdijk

Peter Sloterdijk's "Terror From the Air" is a marvelous genealogy of a specific type of terrorism that involves an assault upon the enemy's very living conditions. Sloterdijk insists that the twentieth century began in 1915 at Ypres with the German attack upon French-Canadian troops using chlorine gas. This was the first time, he says, that an enemy's atmosphere came under assault rather than a particular army or fortification. Twentieth century terrorism, from the gassing of the Jews to the Tokyo subway attacks using sarin nerve gas by the AUM Shunrikyo cult, unfolds from out of this one moment, pregnant with devastation. The book is apparently a slice cut from Sloterdijk's larger epic three volume work entitled "Spheres," in which he examines the implications of the disintegration of the various womb-worlds that have hitherto enclosed Western civilization. "Terror From the Air" is impressive because of its very lucidity, clarity and its lack of the usual technical verbosity that tends to plague critical theory texts. It is apparent from this book that Sloterdijk can analyze culture along with the best of them, and he clearly deserves a wider audience. One hopes that more of his work will be translated, especially "Spheres." Sloterdijk belongs on the same shelf beside Baudrillard, Zizek and Virilio. I proofread this book for Semiotexte, and I must say that it impressed me greatly. Sloterdijk manages to pack a lot of insight into his paragraphs, for the book is short and gets directly to the point. If you like good Critical Theory books, then you should try this one.