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Rating: 
Summary: Not So Hot
Review: I purchased this title because I was interested in getting a firm grounding in semiotics, with a rich historical background thrown in, and I've had really good luck doing just this with other books in the Intriducing series. I ended up greatly disappointed, to the tune of not even finishing the book (a rarity for me).The explanations are sadly lacking. For instance, the author spends a whole two pages giving definitions for terms such as icon, symbol, and index. Often, definitions for crucial terms like these are offered in the form of too-short and too-simple examples. The book also tends to style over substance. Sentences are needlessly obtuse. More time is spent on comparing and contrasting barely differing viewpoints of minor figures in the field that were never explained in the first place. I felt like I was in a poorly-done parody of some post-post-modernistic semiotics seminar. I still love the Icon Books "Introducing..." series, but I'll look elsewhere for a semiotics primer.
Rating: 
Summary: a good start
Review: Introducing Semiotics isn't the best of the Introducing series but it is a good read. I have accumulated several of the Introducing study guides and find them delightful. They are the right length for weekend reading and the illustrations are always amusing. Introducing Semiotics was one of the more difficult in the series due to the busy style in which it was written. I had to reread about half of the book before completely grasping it, not because of the subject matter but because of the wording. It felt like the author was trying to hard to to make things sound nice rather than trying to elucidate the topic. Despite the writting style, the book was very helpful. It is a must for anyone who is studying something related to semiotics, like film theory, and needs a jumping off point for research. It isn't too in depth to understand but it still covers all the major topics that you will likely have an essay question or two on. To sum things up... If you're looking for informative entertainment, get one of the other introducing books, but if you need a semiotics study guide it is definitley worth the nine or ten bucks.
Rating:
Summary: a good start
Review: Introducing Semiotics isn't the best of the Introducing series but it is a good read. I have accumulated several of the Introducing study guides and find them delightful. They are the right length for weekend reading and the illustrations are always amusing. Introducing Semiotics was one of the more difficult in the series due to the busy style in which it was written. I had to reread about half of the book before completely grasping it, not because of the subject matter but because of the wording. It felt like the author was trying to hard to to make things sound nice rather than trying to elucidate the topic. Despite the writting style, the book was very helpful. It is a must for anyone who is studying something related to semiotics, like film theory, and needs a jumping off point for research. It isn't too in depth to understand but it still covers all the major topics that you will likely have an essay question or two on. To sum things up... If you're looking for informative entertainment, get one of the other introducing books, but if you need a semiotics study guide it is definitley worth the nine or ten bucks.
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