“Delusions arrive as visions, sounds, images, rays, and waves—they arrive by way of media apparatuses, which are one condition of existence of the historical ways in which we constantly and inescapably go mad. Jeffrey Sconce's outstanding book is the essential media theoretical guide that does not merely map how we go off the rails, but how and what kind of rails were constructed in the first place.” - Jussi Parikka, author of Insect Media: An Archaeology of Animals and Technology
“As Jeffrey Sconce parses the reasonable and the delusional, the reader is taken on a mind-altering journey through which two centuries of media and technological criticism, panic, and uncertainty become a continuous struggle to apprehend some fundamental unrealities of modern life. Speaking directly to the operations of media in a post-truth world, The Technical Delusion makes a major contribution to cultural histories of modernity and media and has enormous potential to expand how we study media and power.” - Charles R. Acland, author of Swift Viewing: The Popular Life of Subliminal Influence
"Sconce has written an important book that lets us tune in to some of the more disturbed and disturbing frequencies on the media-technological spectrum. It will be influential in media studies, and beyond that, in the wider effort to understand what all these devices are doing to us." - Ben Kafka, Bookforum
"A robust and multidimensional reminder of the complexity of human consciousness. . . . One impressive feature of the study is how deftly Sconce weaves together case studies, literary source material, court cases, and popular media." - Amy Ione, Leonardo Reviews
"Few recent works of media scholarship could be said to be, even occasionally, laugh-out-loud hilarious. But alongside evenhanded appraisals of delicate subjects such as mental illness and conspiracy theories, Sconce manages to deliver his salient points with comedic flair, frequently punctuating his analyses with unexpected jokes." - Leo Goldsmith, Film Quarterly
"The Technical Delusion is the first comprehensive study of what psychotic visions have contributed to shared perceptions of technology. Sconce has assembled a remarkable array of evidence and stitched it together into a compelling narrative about the imaginary history of technology over the past two centuries." - Geoff Shullenberger, The New Atlantis
"Sconce, a professor of media studies, has immersed himself in psychiatric history and brings the two fields together in an account that is densely theorised and rich in fascinating case studies." - Mike Jay, Fortean Times
"This book could be useful for those who want to look into mental illnesses related to technology and how it has evolved over the centuries." - Rustie Anglin, Communication Booknotes Quarterly
"A striking, ambitious, and demanding book…. It should appeal to a wide audience, from historians of technology to media theorists and cultural studies theorists, from historians of psychiatry and psychoanalysis to psychiatrists and psychoanalysts themeslves." - Nicolas Henckes, Technology and Culture
"The Technical Delusion is an ambitious monograph that crystallizes the author's status as a leading thinker on mediated subjectivity. It may interest scholars working in media history as well as cultural studies and critical theory…. Given adequate time to read and digest The Technical Delusion, advanced doctoral students and faculty in mass communication will find this book illuminating. I would also recommend it to schoalrs working in bioethics, sociology, or phenomenology." - Chelsea Reynolds, Broadcast Education Association
"Though occasionally grotesque and depressing, Sconce’s work here is urgent, relevant, and of critical importance well beyond scholarly confines—especially in our time of shifting propriety." - Benjamin van Loon, Communication Booknotes Quarterly
