J. G. BALLARD - BOOKS ABOUT BALLARD

This section covers book length treatments of Ballard: bibliographies, critical works, and anthologies. For a more comprehensive listing of secondary literature on Ballard, both books and articles, see Umberto Rossi's The Critical Exhibition. 

J. G. BALLARD: A BIBLIOGRAPHY (ed. J. Goddard), Cypher Press, 1970

An early bibliography, photostated and with a tape binding. This is a scarce publication.

 

J G Ballard: A Bibliography, 1970

J. G. BALLARD: THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS (ed. J. Goddard & D. Pringle), Bran's Head Books, 1976

Published in both hardback and paperback editions, The First Twenty Years contains a bibliography, a lengthy interview with Ballard, and a number of articles on various aspects of Ballard's work. Copies are usually available on Abebooks.

 

J.G. Ballard: The First Twenty Years, 1976

EARTH IS THE ALIEN PLANET: J. G. BALLARD'S FOUR-DIMENSIONAL NIGHTMARE (D. Pringle) Borgo Press, 1979

A short critical appreciation of Ballard, by his chief bibliographer, published in paperback (there may also have been a hardback edition). This is actually an expanded version of an earlier essay by Pringle.

 

Earth Is the Alien Planet, 1978

J. G. BALLARD: A PRIMARY & SECONDARY BIBLIOGRAPHY (D. Pringle), G. K. Hall, 1984

This is the definitive bibliography of Ballard's work, although now rather out of date. It also contains an extensive interview with Ballard and an introductory article by David Pringle. Published in hardback, apparently without a dust jacket. This is a difficult book to find.

 

A Primary and Secondary Bibliography, 1984

RE/SEARCH #8/9: J. G. BALLARD, Re/Search, 1984

The first of numerous books by or about Ballard from the idiosyncratic publishers Re/Search from San Francisco. This is a large format, illustrated paperback packed with interviews, articles, and extracts from Ballard's work. Of particular interest is the inclusion of some of Ballard's more obscure work, such as his 'advertiser's announcements', and his collages dating from the 1950s. 

This book has been reprinted on several occasions.

 

Re/Search 8/9, 1984

J. G. BALLARD (P. Brigg), Starmont House, 1985

A book length critical appreciation published in  paperback; there was also a hardback edition which had an imitation leather binding with a paper cover pasted to the front. An uncommon book in either format, although it is now also available on a print-on-demand basis.

 

J. G. Ballard, 1985

OUT OF THE NIGHT AND INTO THE DREAM (G. Stephenson), Greenwood Press, 1991

Another critical appreciation, from a very definite and singular perspective, published in hardback and without a dust jacket. Despite being reasonably common on Abebooks, the prices asked for a copy of Out of the Night are frequently rather outlandish, possibly because it was originally published as a high-priced academic book. There are however occasional copies on Abe or eBay priced at much more reasonable levels. 

 

Out of the Night and into the Dream, 1991

CRASH (D. Cronenberg), Faber & Faber, 1996

The script for Cronenberg's film adaptation of the novel Crash.

Crash, 1996

THE ANGLE BETWEEN TWO WALLS (R. Luckhurst), Liverpool University Press, 1997

A critical appreciation with an emphasis on genre and literary theory, published in both hardback and paperback editions. Also published in the U.S. by St. Martin's Press/Palgrave Macmillan. 

 

The Angle Between Two Walls, 1997

J. G. BALLARD (M. Delville), Northcote House Publishers, 1998

Another critical appreciation, published in paperback. 

 

J. G. Ballard, 1998

CRASH (I. Sinclair), British Film Institute, 1999  

A book length discussion of Cronenberg's film of Crash by the author Iain Sinclair, which includes a discussion with Ballard; published in paperback.

 

Crash, 1999

J. G. BALLARD: QUOTES, Re/Search, 2004

A glossy paperback full of quotes from Ballard and his works - 400 pages worth! Another excellent Ballard book from Re/Search.

There was also a signed flexibind paperback edition, which was limited to 250 numbered copies.

 

J. G. Ballard: Quotes, 2004

J. G. BALLARD (A. Gasiorek), Manchester University Press, 2005

A discussion of Ballard's work 'informed, but not dominated by, critical theory'. Published in both hardback (without a dust jacket) and paperback.

 

J. G. Ballard, 2005

J. G. BALLARD: CONVERSATIONS, Re/Search, 2005

A glossy paperback book of interviews with Ballard, and a companion to Re/Search's J. G. Ballard: Quotes.

 

J. G. Ballard: Conversations, 2005

GRAVE NEW WORLD (D. Oramus), University of Warsaw, 2007

Oramus's book considers Ballard's fiction as 'a record of the gradual internal degeneration of Western civilisation in the second half of the twentieth century.' It was published by the University of Warsaw in a non-profit edition (150 copies only) principally intended for Polish universities and libraries, and hence was never actually available for purchase by the public. The author had written an earlier book on Ballard, The Voices of Time: J. G. Ballard and the Disaster Story Tradition in England (2005), which was also published by the University of Warsaw with a similarly limited distribution.

 

Grave New World, 2007

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