Jean Baudrillard's many published works span more than three decades of the late twentieth century and have been translated into many languages; the extensive length of his bibliography is just one indication of the intense interest he incites as he publishes his penetrating views of Western culture. He has been described variously as "one of the world's major thinkers," "one of France's leading intellectuals," and "one of the most frequently cited contemporary social theorists." Critics have further noted Baudrillard's incalculable influence on postmodern thought; Richard J. Lane, for instance, writes in Jean Baudrillard (2000) that he "is not only one of the most famous writers on the subject of postmodernism, but he somehow seems to embody postmodernism itself." Introduced on one occasion, with some levity, as a "post-modern bogeyman," Baudrillard is someone who tells people what they may not want to hear, what they may doubt can even be...