Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
by:
Chris Hedges (author)
Format: hardcover
ISBN:
9780307398468 (0307398463)
Publish date: July 28th 2009
Publisher: Knopf Canada
Pages no: 240
Edition language: English
Category:
Non Fiction,
Writing,
Essays,
History,
Culture,
Education,
Politics,
Philosophy,
Sociology,
Cultural Studies,
Political Science
One word sum up Hedge's Empire of Illusion: autology. If you've ever wondered what the word is that describes something which describes itself (think: "multisyllabic" or "trochee" or "portmanteau" or "sesquipedalian, etc.), it is autological. In a book which so fervently rails against "spectacle" it...
2.5/5 I agree with much of what Hedges has to say (excepting his chapter on Porn, see below) but I don't agree with the way he says it or many of his claims about the "what" that he has identified as destroying the US. Yes, the US is clearly headed for worse times, and this is definitely in part a ...
This book brings up a lot of good criticisms against capitalist societies but it is certainly not without flaws. Hedges' biases are obvious and he seems to have a grudge against those he calls the "elites", that is, the wealthy and powerful capitalists that his book rails against. I get it, money ta...
Hedges vents his considerable anger with America's cultural and intellectual decline, and the penchant for most of our fellow citizens to choose the comforts of distraction and delusion over confronting the challenges of reality. I share his disillusionment.
Chris Hedges’ Empire of Illusion is in part an angry screed, in part a Jeremiad lament, and (in small) part a vision of a better America. With a mixture of raw anger and sharp analysis, he covers a wide range of topics–professional wrestling, brutal pornography, the military-industrial-educational c...
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