As an audience of millions watched the first United States television appearance of the Beatles, a scant few months after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, one person thought to connect these two events. If the new rhythms, the lyrics, and the haircuts of the Liverpool four brought the first genuine distraction for some from the senselessness of Dallas, for media analyst Marshall McLuhan it brought confirmation of his view that the medium is the message. McLuhan was about to publish his Understanding Media, a book that would stake a place for itself amid the turbulent events of the 1960s, explaining them in terms of the effects of electronic technology on the physical senses and sensibilities of mankind.

Born in Edmonton, Canada, McLuhan spent most of his youth in Winnipeg. He attended the University of Manitoba, receiving his B.A., and then an M...