The Inside Scoop on Gaming

"Whenever the door of hell opens, the voice you hear is your own." Philip Wylie, Generation of Vipers.

It would be difficult to introduce this book without a least a passing on word about its late author, Philip Wylie (1902-1971). In his life, he published more than 40 books, essays and short stories. This includes "The End of Dream," and "When Worlds Collide," and "After Worlds Collide." The book "When Worlds Collide" was made into a science fiction movie in the 1950's. He was also a member of the founding staff of the "New Yorker." His essays and stories regularly appeared in "Vanity Fair," "Redbook," "The Saturday Evening Post," and "Cosmopolitan." At the writing of "Generation of Vipers," he was a former employee of the U.S. Army, having worked at a base in Miami, Florida.

The book is a searing indictment of its times, an endlessly vitriolic attack on all things America. With what at times seems to be near rancor, he skewers motherhood, paganism, patriotism, business, automobiles, medicine, sex, advertising, science, religion, driving, war, peace and materialism. The volume discussed here is a reprint of the 1955 edition, which includes Wylie's comments in the form of footnotes to the original text in the 50's.

The most saddening aspect of the work, both the original 1942 text, and the 1955 footnotes, is that their world is our world. Not only are their problems exactly our problems, but the language used to address, praise and condemn the situations is the same. It is disturbing that after five decades of self-congratulatory war, mass-murder, social-upheaval, scientific advancement and economic growths, the only thing that has changed is the technology generally available.

Five decades and millions dead later we daily stand before hell, its doors open wide, so we can constantly hear us praise ourselves for a job well done.

"Ignorance is not bliss – it is oblivion," Philip Wylie, Generation of Vipers.

An important aspect to the book is that Wylie does not fall into a trap that catches most social commentators. Namely, just because one aspect of society is deeply flawed -- say religion for example -- does mean that it's opposite -- science in this case -- is good or offers meaningful solutions. With a clean yet energetic prose -- something almost entirely lacking on the op-ed page of any newspaper I can think of -- Wylie launches a no holds bared attack on just about every aspect of human endeavor.

He attacks American organized religion for being hypocritical and mauls academia for being stupid. He horse-whips science for being medieval and backhands advertising for being whorish. He stabs Nazi paganism and slashes the American military. He kicks American politics while it is down, and bitch-slaps the American institute of Mother-hood. He has his way with American attitudes about sex and re-crucifies Jesus.

He also manages to be energetic, coherent, rational, insightful and fair through out all of this -- attributes generally lacking in literature from other social commentators and text flowing through the Internet.

Wylie does not gore so many of the American institutions simply for giggles. The book is meant to be constructive criticism, to point out how much better the United States could and should be. This is also an attribute generally lacking in literature from other social commentators and text flowing through the Internet.

As a general book for people, this book is interesting in not only its social commentary but also for the period in which that social commentary was made, and how little things have changed.

It would be a good book for fans of RPG's to read for these reasons and more.

"...twisted in mind and body, possessed of such flaming prejudices as light only the way to hell--blazes of dark fire!" Philip Wylie, Generation of Vipers.

Wylie wrote the above quote about Goebbels. But it could just as easly be true of any or all of the published heroic orginizations. Look to your self to make certian your - and your characters - are doing the right thing, do not simply allow yourself to be led by anyone or any thing.

The book is not flawless however.

An exception to Wylie's generally astute analysis is the advent of personal computers and the growth of the Internet. However, this is understandable because he died before personal computers appeared, and the book pre-dates the Internet by 50 years. As such, this is an excusable omission.

Another and more puzzling omission is the subject of race relations. He does write about appalling conditions at the black section of the Army base in Miami, which rivaled the squalid condition -- if not the enforced violence and mass murder -- of a Nazi death camp. He also discuses the German genocide of the Jews. This is interesting because in much of the current (1990's) literature about the holocaust reads that Americans were unaware of the horror of the death camps until after the war. While the details of that blasphemous event may have remained unknown until the end of the War, people did know basicly what was going on. Words to the contrary are lies. In any event, the only time he speaks directly to the issue of race and race relations is when he is analyzing the motivations of the Nazi in selecting the Jewish people as a target. He does not offer any chapters specifically to the subject, and in retrospect of the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King and his supporters, this omission seems rather glaring. It would have been satisfying to read Wylie's perspective on the subject.

Lest these comments dissuade you from purchasing and reading this book, it is important to reiterate this is a very insightful collection of essays.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Generation of Vipers
Author: Philip Wylie Category: Company/Publisher: Dalkey Archive Line: none Cost: $13.95 U.S.A. Page count: 331 ISBN: 1-56478-146-1 SKU: none Capsule Review by R. Sullivan on 08/30/99. Genre tags: none	"Whenever the door of hell opens, the voice you hear is your own." Philip Wylie, Generation of Vipers. It would be difficult to introduce this book without a least a passing on word about its late author, Philip Wylie (1902-1971). In his life, he published more than 40 books, essays and short stories. This includes "The End of Dream," and "When Worlds Collide," and "After Worlds Collide." The book "When Worlds Collide" was made into a science fiction movie in the 1950's. He was also a member of the founding staff of the "New Yorker." His essays and stories regularly appeared in "Vanity Fair," "Redbook," "The Saturday Evening Post," and "Cosmopolitan." At the writing of "Generation of Vipers," he was a former employee of the U.S. Army, having worked at a base in Miami, Florida. The book is a searing indictment of its times, an endlessly vitriolic attack on all things America. With what at times seems to be near rancor, he skewers motherhood, paganism, patriotism, business, automobiles, medicine, sex, advertising, science, religion, driving, war, peace and materialism. The volume discussed here is a reprint of the 1955 edition, which includes Wylie's comments in the form of footnotes to the original text in the 50's. The most saddening aspect of the work, both the original 1942 text, and the 1955 footnotes, is that their world is our world. Not only are their problems exactly our problems, but the language used to address, praise and condemn the situations is the same. It is disturbing that after five decades of self-congratulatory war, mass-murder, social-upheaval, scientific advancement and economic growths, the only thing that has changed is the technology generally available. Five decades and millions dead later we daily stand before hell, its doors open wide, so we can constantly hear us praise ourselves for a job well done. "Ignorance is not bliss – it is oblivion," Philip Wylie, Generation of Vipers. An important aspect to the book is that Wylie does not fall into a trap that catches most social commentators. Namely, just because one aspect of society is deeply flawed -- say religion for example -- does mean that it's opposite -- science in this case -- is good or offers meaningful solutions. With a clean yet energetic prose -- something almost entirely lacking on the op-ed page of any newspaper I can think of -- Wylie launches a no holds bared attack on just about every aspect of human endeavor. He attacks American organized religion for being hypocritical and mauls academia for being stupid. He horse-whips science for being medieval and backhands advertising for being whorish. He stabs Nazi paganism and slashes the American military. He kicks American politics while it is down, and bitch-slaps the American institute of Mother-hood. He has his way with American attitudes about sex and re-crucifies Jesus. He also manages to be energetic, coherent, rational, insightful and fair through out all of this -- attributes generally lacking in literature from other social commentators and text flowing through the Internet. Wylie does not gore so many of the American institutions simply for giggles. The book is meant to be constructive criticism, to point out how much better the United States could and should be. This is also an attribute generally lacking in literature from other social commentators and text flowing through the Internet. As a general book for people, this book is interesting in not only its social commentary but also for the period in which that social commentary was made, and how little things have changed. It would be a good book for fans of RPG's to read for these reasons and more. "...twisted in mind and body, possessed of such flaming prejudices as light only the way to hell--blazes of dark fire!" Philip Wylie, Generation of Vipers. Wylie wrote the above quote about Goebbels. But it could just as easly be true of any or all of the published heroic orginizations. Look to your self to make certian your - and your characters - are doing the right thing, do not simply allow yourself to be led by anyone or any thing. The book is not flawless however. An exception to Wylie's generally astute analysis is the advent of personal computers and the growth of the Internet. However, this is understandable because he died before personal computers appeared, and the book pre-dates the Internet by 50 years. As such, this is an excusable omission. Another and more puzzling omission is the subject of race relations. He does write about appalling conditions at the black section of the Army base in Miami, which rivaled the squalid condition -- if not the enforced violence and mass murder -- of a Nazi death camp. He also discuses the German genocide of the Jews. This is interesting because in much of the current (1990's) literature about the holocaust reads that Americans were unaware of the horror of the death camps until after the war. While the details of that blasphemous event may have remained unknown until the end of the War, people did know basicly what was going on. Words to the contrary are lies. In any event, the only time he speaks directly to the issue of race and race relations is when he is analyzing the motivations of the Nazi in selecting the Jewish people as a target. He does not offer any chapters specifically to the subject, and in retrospect of the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King and his supporters, this omission seems rather glaring. It would have been satisfying to read Wylie's perspective on the subject. Lest these comments dissuade you from purchasing and reading this book, it is important to reiterate this is a very insightful collection of essays. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)