From Kant to Las Vegas to Cyberspace: a Philosopher on the Edge of Postmodernism 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 AN 'ELECTRONIC ARTIST'S BOOK' Lately, fascinated by cyberspace, he has published what he calls an "electronic artist's book" on a CD-ROM alongside his newest book in print, Hiding (University of Chicago Press, 1997). Hiding is his 13th book, and one-word titles are a trademark; earlier books include Tears (State University of New York Press, 1989) and Nots (Chicago, 1993). This year, Chicago will publish a dictionary of critical terms in religious studies, edited by Mr. Taylor. Next year, he plans to issue a collection of essays, About Religion: Economies of Faith in Virtual Culture, and a book on the contemporary painter Mark Tansey. They will surely be more traditional than Hiding, which is designed to look more like an issue of Wired magazine than a university-press text. Ranging from body piercing to the British miniseries The Singing Detective, from French fashion to the architecture of pyramids, Hiding is where Mr. Taylor takes his interest in postmodernism to the limit. The professor describes himself as a philosopher of culture, but earlier in his career he had a more traditional role, engaging with thinkers like Kierkegaard, Hegel, and Nietzsche. Beginning with his 1984 book, Erring: A Postmodern/A Theology, however, he has moved from writing about texts to writing about modern art and culture. "Hiding represents a coming together," he says. A CHALLENGE FOR THE PRESS In its design alone, Hiding posed a challenge for a university press. Mr. Taylor didn't simply write it and then locate a designer. The project was collaborative; he and the designers, Michael Rock and Susan Sellers, tried to create a book that could be approached like hypertext, allowing readers to jump from place to place and make their own connections. "Don't read Hiding as a book," advises Jack Miles, the author of God: A Biography, in the foreword. "Instead, take it as a trip."