Book worms into minds of PC cultists

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Title: The Cult of Mac
Author: Leander Kahney
Web site: Computer Bookshops
Price: £28/$40
ISBN: 1886411832
Publisher: No Starch Press

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WE GET an awful lot of Mac-flaming here at INQ Central. Whilst we endeavour to cover the Apple platform as fairly as humanly possible, the inevitable negative story that comes up occasionally often results in a huge amount of mail telling us that we are, to paraphrase politely, not exactly on the ball.

It can be hard to get inside the mind of these flamers. The single-mindedness they display seems more at home in a psychological thriller than an everyday interaction like email. What drives these people? What inspires such blind devotion in their computing hardware of choice? A new book back industry luminary Leander Kahney attempts to get to the bottom of these questions and a whole lot more. The book is called 'The Cult of Mac'.

To be fair to the subjects of the book, not all of them are nut-jobs. Kahney has interviewed a wide range of people and garnered a good breadth of opinions to form the basis of his book, and the characters presented range from the aforementioned Mac-Zealot to the moderate Mac user, taking in DJs, typical American families and kooky Japanese-types along the way. Kahney describes the fanatics and their devotion as ranging 'from the innocuous to the insane', but the basic premise of the book is this: what is it about Apple that brings together such a wide range of people into this subculture?

First, a little about Kahney: previously a senior writer with Macweek magazine, his current gig - amongst other freelance commitments - is covering all facets of the Apple community for Wired News online. In his work for Wired he writes opinion columns, as well as covering the latest product releases from FruitZilla itself. He also keeps a key eye on the Mac underground; the sleeve notes attribute to Eric Hellweg (CNN) the quote that "If you want to know what's happening in the Apple underground, talk to Leander Kahney". A self-professed Mac nut, he begins the book by likening Mac to sex: writing that once you've become 'smitten… you've got to have it.' Mrs Kahney apparently declined to comment.

The book itself is a coffee-table-styled tome. The design, as you might expect, is equisite: the large amount of text the book contains is set off against well placed pictures, whilst multiple-page-spreads in varying styles lend both eye-candy and design flair. Just like the Mac it investigates, the book rewards handling, browsing, nay, revelling in its pages.

Kahney writes with an interesting voice that is usually careful not to betray any value-judgement about its subject. Throughout the book, he remains neutral about the wide-ranging topics covered, preferring to let the facts and the pictures speak for themselves. One particular paragraph illustrates this beautifully:

"The porn analogy is appropriate. In a recent forum thread at MacNN, one poster admitted he'd rather look at pictures of a partially unpacked iBook than pictures of partially unclothed women".

Straight-faced and straight-laced, any temptation to mock the poor chap is resisted. In fact, the absolute lack of judgement, of any criticism, almost swings the text in the opposite direction, towards sympathy. There is a definite feeling that Kahney is indulging his subjects - the book is utterly devoid of any confrontation between the author and his chosen illustratees.

The only vitriol even hinted at, interestingly enough, seems to be aimed at Apple itself. The company is pulled up for its inability to adequately cater to the incredibly strong asset that is its fanbase and for its general high-handed nature. Kahney describes the inability of Apple to respond to clear desire for products that it considers dead, such as Hypercard or the Newton. Describing Macworld, he writes that 'A lot of business is conducted behind the scenes…Reporters…get to meet top executives, who hand out their business cards to everyone in reach. (Call them after the show and they defer to a stonewalling PR team).' It has to be said that this writer sympathises with Kahney on the point; I've universally found Apple's press relations to be little short of a travesty, at least in my experiences here in the UK.

If the neutral tone implies a hint of indulgence, then, the innumerable subjects Kahney covers makes the book equivalent to a 30-course banquet at the Ritz. Absolutely everything that a Mac-fanatic could want is in here and is covered in a decent amount of depth. How about this for starters: fantasy Mac creation (too much time in Photoshop); Mac tattoos (too much skin going spare); Apple and its relationship to religion (too many Satanists); the incredible success of the iPod (too much piracy); the relationship between Apple's incredible designs and the desirability of new-born children (too much Freud); the underground Spy culture of product leaks (too much information); not to mention the online dating of like-minded Mac geeks (too much ocean between them).

The results of his investigations range from the obvious to the profound, but both are given equal air-time. When considering the customisation that some users exact on their machines, he ranges from the not-exactly-brain-surgery of 'The iMac makes a particularly nice fish tank', through to 'Hirokazu Kuwata's beautifully customized Powerbook Titanium G4 epitomizes Mac culture in Japan - the seamless blend of cutting-edge technology with traditional handicraft,' complete with gorgeous photograph of said Powerbook. The succinct summary is apt when dealing with a country where smaller is better, and the custom Powerbook is one of the book's many 'wow' moments.

The book doesn't so much provide a definitive answer to the primary question, so much as a series of secondary resolutions. The overall message of the book is that it is hard to pin down a reason, or even a couple of major reasons, why Apple attracts the following it does. Each of the 17 chapters offers a new angle on the obsession, and provides a new set of subsidiary questions and answers. If the Cult of Mac is akin to a religion, it seems appropriate that that one all-encompassing Answer is elusive.

Going through the book and describing it chapter-by-chapter would defeat the point, as would a comprehensive list of my personal likes and dislikes about it. Let me endeavour, then, to try and sum up my feelings on the title.

Leander Kahney has put together an incredibly comprehensive book that is part reference-work and part light-entertainment. The whole of the book - its subject, its design, its content - appeals to the same audience that ingests Macs so eagerly; arty types, geeks, those with a passion for the alternative. Mac-haters will find the book nothing short of a God-send - here, they will cry, is evidence that Mac users are all utter tosspots. However, PC enthusiasts and hardcore users will no doubt recognise the same personality traits and qualities in the subjects of this book as they find in themselves, and perhaps the book will lead them to understand that Mac cultists, whilst so different, are in many respects so similar.

The Cult of Mac has earned a long-term spot on my coffee table and is a heartily recommended purchase for anyone with even a passing interest in Macintosh. Fantastic for picking up and skimming, as well as a great conversation piece, it also has the ability to absorb you for far longer than your cappuccino will last. µ