McLuhan’s fame exploded in the ’60s. The process began with the publication in 1962 of The Gutenberg Galaxy , a study of the revolution in sensibility wrought by the printing press, and, in 1964, of Understanding Media , a look at various media including money, clothing and cars, as well as print and television. Both books caught the attention of critics and intellectuals in both North America and Europe.
Suddenly articles on McLuhan began to appear in virtually every general interest magazine, as well as intellectual reviews—a 1965 profile in New York magazine by Tom Wolfe, entitled “What If He Is Right?” was particularly influential. Corporate leaders, government officials,
