Martin McQuillan has complied groups of related essays that illuminate the often dark and mysterious topic of deconstruction. While not for the faint of heart, Deconstruction: A Reader begins with an introduction by McQuillan which is one of the best overviews of deconstuction around. Easy to read and simple to follow, McQuillan's intro leads the reader through labrynthine complexities while defining all the tricky terms as they appear. Continual references to essays within the book also make it easy to find the essay that most interests you. With the deconstructive project deciphered, a wealth of perspective knowledge is contained in the 50+ essays. Organized by field of interest -- philosophy, literature, culture, etc.. -- the effects of deconstruction can easily be examined within each section. I particularly enjoy the first section which contains essays by Freud, Marx, Heidegger and more. These snipits from larger works enlighten the reader of deconstruction's precursors -- how can you know where you are going if you don't know where you can from? The remaining sections are brilliantly framed by opening and closing remarks from the daddy of deconstruction: Derrida. While many of the essays are deeply intellectual and profound, many are accessible with the information presented in the intro, but after the easier essays are understood and internalized, the more difficult ones become available.
Overall, this reader is a great overview of the deconstructive project and it's implications. For beginners, the intro cannot be raved about enough. It is helpful in the extreme. For more advanced deconstruction theorists, the essays provide a deconstructive perspective on many issues and in many ways. For anybody that writes on or is interested in the subject, I highly recommend this "handbook."
