Miracles, viruses, plane crashes and acts of terror perpetrated by a group of Others: This is the perplexing and radical world of the television show Lost. With wit and insight, J. Wood explores the show's strange engagement with the psychodynamics of the war on terror/ism we all experience through the media and mediated government -- war, (mis)information, terrorism -- and re-works those psychodynamics through its narrative. And that argument underlies a broader discussion of the mysteries and secrets and strange narrative forms the show has taken on. There's also an appendix that goes over the major characters up through the six-episode miniseries and discusses how the themes of the narrative are refracted through the characterizations.

Although this book was written before the third season, Living Lost delves into every aspect of the show: the names, the numbers, the psychology, the literary references, and so on. The author seems to know his stuff. He has incredible knowledge of the show and, although I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about Lost, he has surprised me with new facts. The cross-referencing is helpful - different aspects of the same "truth" covered under different headings. He couldn't help pontificating on some liberal views of his own, but I could overlook that. Very entertaining book.

The first part of this book is a fully overview of the Lost thematics, included a great analysis of the related literature and information about the scientific aspects such as Minkowski space, covering seasons 1, 2 and a few episodes of the third one.
The last part of the book is a detailed description of all the characters , even Pickett and Colleen have their (although short) chapter...and so the Lost Experience guys (Rachel, Mittelwerk, etc.), with really every connection among them!

What you will NOT find in this book?
- an episode guide
- photos
- just a list of theories.

But this is no doubt the best Lost book publishe till now!

It is not clear to me if an updated version covering the whole season 3 is going to be published...
Somebody can help?

Well I guess I am in the minority here! A heads up to all the LOST fans that would like something to complement the show LOST. This is NOT the book for you, unless you do want a work of criticism...on EVERYTHING! Thomas Hancock is correct, "Not a guide, great cultural criticism." But where I disagee is that it is not great if you dont agree with writer J Wood's beliefs.

Beeker is also correct, " He seems to know a little something about everything." The author sure did put his two cents into it when it came to everything from politics, government, movies, books, etc etc. He was extremely critical of stuff which to me was just a way for the author to grandstand his ideas and beliefs.

I honestly thought that by the title, the author would explain why each of us, the readers, were stuck on the island, as we are hopelessly stuck in this analytical world of deciphering the show and its mysteries. How wrong I was when I read this book!

This book has 264 pages of text and the 1st 134 pages nearly bored me to death or angered me beyond belief! I almost put the book down several times and had to force myself to continue reading hoping it would finally get on with it and really examine the TV show! This 1st half was all about comparing LOST to the real world and how the author sees this world through his own eyes. Sure he related bits and pieces of the show and went off on a tangent to the problems in the world and how it (remotely) relates to those bits and pieces.

If you can make it through the first 134 pages, you will delight in the rest of the book as the author finally examines each of the characters and where they've been and what they are doing now in the series. I DID enjoy the 2nd half of the book.

I feel that I should give this a 2 1/2 since I hated the 1st half and enjoyed the 2nd half. I am therefore being generous in giving that extra 1/2 star to the positive.

If you want a book on the TV Show LOST and dont want to be bogged down in real life problems, if you want to read for enjoyment and not to feel like you are being pulled into debates, do NOT buy this book. Getting through the 1st half is not worth it unless you like to debate hot topics of the world.

A disappointment overall, I wont be reading it much in the future unless I need quick access to info on the LOST characters for trivia or something.

This book is a great starter for anyone interested in the literary references found throughout the television show.
J. Wood is extremely insightful and articulate and it is apparent that he is a fan of the show.

If I ever had to complain about Lost, it would be about the way they leave me hanging and bewildered. All the while that I have watched this show I know there are a million things that I'm just not picking up on, and therefore I'm Lost.

And then along came J Wood to the rescue.

I first came across J when I ran into his blog on Powells.com. He guts out each episode six ways to Sunday, and then he checks back in to answer further questions. What I like best about J's analysis of Lost is that its clear that he's not just a TV nerd. He seems to know a little something about everything. Not only does J understand the intricacies of what is happening on the show, he delivers about six more layers of meaning to everything that happens on the show.

These layers are described beautifully in his book, making you see the show entirely different, and even some aspects of real life.

Living Lost has value as cultural criticism, a lesson in literary theory, the answers to all of your lost questions, and just a plain old entertaining read. I've read it twice and still reference it as an excellent coffe table reader.