Il medium è il massaggio

First published in 1967 with graphics by Quentin Fiore, The Medium Is the Massage. An inventory of effects is one of the 20th century's seminal texts on communication theory.

Beginning with the observation that media are extensions of man's physical and psychic faculties, McLuhan outlines the effect that each medium ‘in itself’ has on the senses. The particular structure of each medium makes it non-neutral, and the technological medium through which the information is conveyed has an effect on the imaginary regardless of the content of the information itself. McLuhan's reflection expands to include the world of goods, printing, advertising and the arts, and the blending of text and images - developed by Quentin Fiore - reflects his controversial thought on paper, becoming an integral part of the message.

According to Eric McLuhan, Marshall's son, the title of the book was the result of a typo by the printer, who wrote ‘Massage’ instead of ‘Message’ in the proofs. The author decided to keep the error, which created an unintentional play on words in the full spirit of his famous phrase ‘the medium is the message’, "even going so far as to make fun of himself in a humorous and highly intelligent way" (from the back cover by Marco Belpoliti).