Both Gilles Deleuze and Jacques Derrida explore the concept of the book as a medium of philosophy -- a medium which affects the possible message. "The Book and Philosophy," explores the attempt of both Deleuze and Derrida to rethink the role of the book in the history of philosophy. Because of the link between the traditional model of the book and the traditional role of philosophy, both Deleuze and Derrida take as an integral part of their own projects a rethinking of the book. Drawing on the book artist Keith Smith, it is shown that though Deleuze and Derrida speak of the book, what really interest them is the literature within the book (Deleuze) and the book as a metaphor for total knowledge (Derrida). Smith, on the other hand, does think of the book as book -- the form of the book -- and points the way for a new analysis of Deleuze and Derrida's similar projects. This work will be of interest to students of philosophy, aesthetics, art theory, media studies and anyone else interested in the current role of the book and the contemporary debate of the role of the writer.
