Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business Paperback - 1986
by Neil Postman
Summary
Reader reviews for Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Review summary
Readers widely praised Neil Postman’s critique of media as eerily prescient, arguing that his Huxley-over-Orwell warning about politics, news, education, and religion becoming entertainment fits the modern internet and social media age. Many found the book concise, accessible, and clarifying—an influential primer on how mediums shape public discourse and why spectacle displaces reason—often cited for illuminating recent political dynamics. Several reported changing their media habits or adopting a more critical stance toward news. Detractors called it one-sided and nostalgic about the print era, accused it of cherry-picking, and noted dated examples and scant remedies; some argued television and digital media can inform when used well. Overall, the book is seen as a powerful, still-relevant diagnosis that provokes debate about attention, truth, and civic culture.
Readers say this book is:
prescientthought-provokingrelevant todayinsightfulquick readfoundationalimpactfulalarmistone-sideddated in partsNeil Postman, in the first half of the book, does an excellent job of providing an overview of the theoretical aspects of communication and the various media used interact with and influence the content of what is communicated. After this theoretical foundation, he traces with clarity and wit the changes in the nature and content of our discourse brought about by the telecommunication, culminating in the rise of television. This is an excellent book that has quite accurately discussed , and predicted, the direction of our public discourse.
a reader
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Details
- Title Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
- Author Neil Postman
- Binding Paperback
- Edition Reprint
- Pages 184
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Penguin Group, New York, New York, U.S.A.
- Publication date 1986-11-04
- ISBN 9780140094381 / 0140094385
- Weight 0.34 lbs (0.15 kg)
- Dimensions 7.8 x 5.04 x 0.52 in (19.81 x 12.80 x 1.32 cm)
- Age range 18 to UP years
- Grade levels 13 - UP
- Category Sociology
- Library of Congress subjects Mass media - Influence, Mass media - United States
- Library of Congress Catalogue Number 86009513
- Dewey Decimal Code 302.234
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