Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Originally published in 1985, Neil Postman’s groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic...
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Originally published in 1985, Neil Postman’s groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media—from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs—it has taken on even greater significance. Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining controlof our media, so that they can serve our highest goals.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780143036531 (014303653X)
ASIN: 014303653X
Publish date: December 27th 2005
Publisher: Penguin
Pages no: 208
Edition language: English
Category:
Non Fiction,
History,
Academic,
School,
Science,
Technology,
Culture,
Education,
Politics,
Philosophy,
Sociology,
Psychology
The book didn't live up to its title, even though it was preaching to the very much converted. Maybe it's like the old show biz joke: a man goes to a booking agent and offers to show him a once-in-a-lifetime act. He then sets himself on fire and disappears. "Great, what else do you do?"
A must-read, especially if you write for a living, or watch any amount of TV news, ever.
If you've read, and liked, [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SJW829TEL._SL75_.jpg|3204877], this is a great non-fiction companion book.
I've never really been a TV addict. Oh, I've watched plenty of television fare in my time, but I've always been more interested in comics and books, I think, because of their permanence. TV, until the advent of the videocassette recorder, had been extremely ephemeral.The ephemeral nature of TV, whic...