Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

Neil Postman

ISBN 10: 0670804541 / ISBN 13: 9780670804542

Published by Viking Penguin, 1985

Dust jacket in good condition. First edition. Cover and binding are worn but intact. A reading copy in fair condition. Dust jacket has minor edgewear with notable creasing to flaps. Interior pages throughout have notes and underlines from previous owner. Secure packaging for safe delivery. Seller Inventory # 1676595781

Synopsis:

Examines the ways in which television has transformed public discourse--in politics, education, religion, science, and elsewhere--into a form of entertainment that undermines exposition, explanation and knowledge

Reviews: 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, as Postman sees it, is the shrivelling of public discourse as TV degrades our conception of what constitutes news, political debate, art, even religious thought. Early chapters trace America's one-time love affair with the printed word, from colonial pamphlets to the publication of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. There's a biting analysis of TV commercials as a form of "instant therapy" based on the assumption that human problems are easily solvable. Postman goes further than other critics in demonstrating that television represents a hostile attack on literate culture. October 30
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse...
Publisher: Viking Penguin
Publication Date: 1985
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Fair
Dust Jacket Condition: Good
Edition: First Edition.