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Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America
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Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America Paperback - 2010

by Barbara Ehrenreich

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With the mythbusting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich exposes the downside of America's penchant for positive thinking. On a personal level, it leads to self-blame; on a national level, it's ushered in an era of irrational optimism resulting in disaster.

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From the publisher

The New York Times Bestseller

"Deeply satisfying. . . I have waited my whole life for someone to write a book like Bright-sided." --The New York Times Book Review

From the critically-acclaimed author of Nickel and Dimed comes the bestseller Bright-sided, a sharp-witted knockdown of America's love affair with positive thinking and an urgent call for a new commitment to realism.

Americans are a "positive" people -- cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: This is our reputation as well as our self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive is the key to getting success and prosperity. Or so we are told.

In this utterly original debunking, Barbara Ehrenreich confronts the false promises of positive thinking and shows its reach into every corner of American life, from Evangelical megachurches to the medical establishment, and, worst of all, to the business community, where the refusal to consider negative outcomes--like mortgage defaults--contributed directly to the current economic disaster. With the myth-busting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich exposes the downside of positive thinking: personal self-blame and national denial. This is Ehrenreich at her provocative best--poking holes in conventional wisdom and faux science and ending with a call for existential clarity and courage.

Details

  • Title Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America
  • Author Barbara Ehrenreich
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: First
  • Pages 256
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Picador USA, Gordonsville, VA, U.S.A.
  • Publication date 2010-08-03
  • Features Bibliography, Index, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780312658854 / 0312658850
  • Weight 0.52 lbs (0.24 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 in (21.59 x 13.97 x 2.03 cm)
  • Category Archaeology / Anthropology
  • Library of Congress subjects Self-confidence, Success in business - United States
  • Dewey Decimal Code 155.232

Media reviews

Citations

  • Entertainment Weekly, 09/17/2010, Page 142
  • New York Times Book Review, 08/15/2010, Page 20

About the author

Barbara Ehrenreich (1941-2022) was a bestselling author and political activist, whose more than a dozen books included Nickel and Dimed, which The New York Times described as "a classic in social justice literature", Bait and Switch, Bright-sided, This Land Is Their Land, Dancing In The Streets, and Blood Rites. An award-winning journalist, she frequently contributed to Harper's, The Nation, The New York Times, and TIME magazine. Ehrenreich was born in Butte, Montana, when it was still a bustling mining town. She studied physics at Reed College, and earned a Ph.D. in cell biology from Rockefeller University. Rather than going into laboratory work, she got involved in activism, and soon devoted herself to writing her innovative journalism.
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Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America
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Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

by Ehrenreich, Barbara

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780312658854 / 0312658850
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Picador. Pages are clean and tight. A trade size paperback with a display quality spine. . Very Good. Soft cover. 1st Edition. 2010.
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Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America
Stock photo: cover may vary

Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

by Ehrenreich, Barbara

  • Used
  • Very good
  • Paperback
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Very good
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Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780312658854 / 0312658850
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Picador USA, 2010. Trade Paperback. Very Good. Slight browning to interior but tight and clean.
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Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America
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Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

by Ehrenreich, Barbara

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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Bright-Sided : How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

Bright-Sided : How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

by Barbara Ehrenreich

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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A$9.54
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Bright-Sided : How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

Bright-Sided : How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

by Barbara Ehrenreich

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  • Very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Very good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780312658854 / 0312658850
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Picador, 2010. Paperback. Very Good. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America
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Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

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Bright-Sided : How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

by Ehrenreich, Barbara

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Bright-Sided : How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America
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Bright-Sided : How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

by Ehrenreich, Barbara

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780312658854 / 0312658850
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Better World Books
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A$10.88
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Bright-Sided : How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America
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Bright-Sided : How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

by Ehrenreich, Barbara

  • Used
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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780312658854 / 0312658850
Quantity available
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Better World Books
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Item price
A$10.88
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Description:
Picador. Used - Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
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Item price
A$10.88
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Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America
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Bright-sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America

by Ehrenreich, Barbara

  • Used
  • Paperback
  • first
Condition
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Edition
First Edition
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780312658854 / 0312658850
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Picador, 2010-08-03. First Edition. paperback. Used: Good. 5.50x0.65x8.20. Buy with confidence. Excellent Customer Service & Return policy.
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