Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show BusinessWhat happens when media and politics become forms of entertainment? As our world begins to look more and more like Orwell's 1984, Neil's Postman's essential guide to the modern media is more relevant than ever. "It's unlikely that Trump has ever read Amusing Ourselves to Death, but his ascent would not have surprised Postman.” -CNN Originally published in 1985, Neil Postman’s groundbreaking polemic about the corrosive effects of television on our politics and public discourse has been hailed as a twenty-first-century book published in the twentieth century. Now, with television joined by more sophisticated electronic media—from the Internet to cell phones to DVDs—it has taken on even greater significance. Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining control of our media, so that they can serve our highest goals. “A brilliant, powerful, and important book. This is an indictment that Postman has laid down and, so far as I can see, an irrefutable one.” –Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World |
From inside the book
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... ideas and accessibility won him an international following . An influential and revered teacher , he was professor for more than forty years at New York University , where he founded the renowned Media Ecology program . Blessed with an ...
... ideas and accessibility won him an international following . An influential and revered teacher , he was professor for more than forty years at New York University , where he founded the renowned Media Ecology program . Blessed with an ...
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Contents
Introduction to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition | vii |
In 1985 | xvii |
Foreword | xix |
The Medium Is the Metaphor | 3 |
Media as Epistemology | 16 |
Typographic America | 30 |
The Typographic Mind | 44 |
The PeekaBoo World | 64 |
The Age of Show Business | 83 |
Now This | 99 |
Shuffle Off to Bethlehem | 114 |
Reach Out and Elect Someone | 125 |
Teaching as an Amusing Activity | 142 |
The Huxleyan Warning | 157 |
Other editions - View all
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business Neil Postman Limited preview - 2005 |
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business Neil Postman Limited preview - 2005 |
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business Neil Postman No preview available - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
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