MixedThe New York Times Book ReviewThis could be a somber exercise, examining the ashes of Pompeii rather than glimpsing the City on the Edge of Tomorrow. But Heffernan is a gleeful trickster, a semiotics fan with an unabashed sweet tooth for pop culture, who believes we shouldn’t confuse grief over the passing of our favorite technology with resentment because some digital alchemy failed to preserve analog experiences ... Loss means plenty to mourn — at one point Heffernan trips into a memory hole for the cord-tangling days of gabbing on the house phone. That nostalgia feels outmoded in places ... That’s what makes Magic and Loss hold together: It embraces the internet as a work in progress. It’s an enjoyable snapshot, perhaps imperfect, but always dangerously close to receding from view as we scroll onto whatever’s next.
