Funds for Bookworm are provided in part by Lannin Foundation.

You are a human animal.

You are a very special breed,

or you are the only animal,

who can think, who can reason, who can read.

From KCRW, Santa Monica, I'm Michael Silverblatt, and this is Bookworm.

Today I'm happy to have as my guest, Grohl Marcus, whose most recent book is The Shape of Things to Come,

Prophecy and the American Voice.

It's published by Farris Strauss and Giroux.

Gril Marcus is the author of several classic books on America, rock, art, music. The first was

Mystery Train. Then came lipstick traces, a secret history of the 20th century. He's written about

Elvis and the image of Elvis in Dead Elvis, a chronicle of the 20th century. He's written about Elvis Presley and the image of Elvis in Dead Elvis,

a chronicle of a cultural obsession.

He's written about the basement tapes as a small book,

analyzing the film The Manchurian Candidate,

and now we have the shape of things to come.

Now, I often feel when I'm reading Grill Marcus

that a title that I love from the Fire Sign Theater,

everything you know is wrong, is relevant.

Now, I gather that the book is the product of courses

that you gave in prophecy that were taught at Berkeley and at Princeton.

And I'm kind of fascinated as well because I find that your own best writing aspires to the condition

...