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Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Amusing Ourselves to Death Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Author: Neil Postman
From the author of Teaching as a Subversive Activity comes a sustained, withering and thought-provoking attack on television and what it is doing to us. Postman's theme is the decline of the printed word and the ascendancy of the "tube" with its tendency to present everythingmurder, mayhem, politics, weatheras entertainment. The ultimate effect,...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780140094381
ISBN-10: 0140094385
Publication Date: 11/4/1986
Pages: 184
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 28

3.8 stars, based on 28 ratings
Publisher: Penguin Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Audio Cassette
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  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
reviewed Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business on + 287 more book reviews
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Although this book is almost 20 years old, it still has a lot of importance to our current society as the key issues are still very much in play, perhaps even more so. I would like to see an update to this book, and also perhaps include looking at how the Internet is shaping society (though that should probably be a book by itself).
  • Currently 0/5 Stars.
reviewed Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business on + 73 more book reviews
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
We all know why it's a waste of time to follow pop culture at the expense of serious goings on in the world. But Postman shows us how the very tools of pop culture -- from the telegraph and camera to the computer -- overwhelm us with a deluge of information without helping us put it into context. We have to be aware of the dark side of these tools of progress, in order to use them wisely. Excellent book that made me see ordinary things in a new way.
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.
reviewed Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business on + 5 more book reviews
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
He makes some interesting points, but ultimately is just a Luddite.


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