Jean Baudrillard: Simulacres et Simulation (French language, 1981, University of Michigan Press)
French language
Published July 21, 1981 by University of Michigan Press.
Simulacra and Simulation (French: Simulacres et Simulation) is a 1981 philosophical treatise by the sociologist Jean Baudrillard, in which the author seeks to examine the relationships between reality, symbols, and society, in particular the significations and symbolism of culture and media involved in constructing an understanding of shared existence. Simulacra are copies that depict things that either had no original, or that no longer have an original. Simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time.
The first 20-or-so pages are great and settle the main concepts, but the remaining 130 feel like a never ending stream of the author's opinions on historical events relevant at the time.
I'm so glad I read this book only in my late 30s... with all the literature I had when growing up, I'd grow more contrarian than I already am.
