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grannyhanny's review against another edition
4.0
A phenomenal commentary on television, media and the course of culture. Incredibly thought-provoking and leaves so much to be discussed and contemplated. My only complaint is that the writing style is heavily academic, and not as easily accessible as it should be.
linadaniel's review against another edition
3.0
Really insightful and valid book, but I listened to the audiobook and the narrators voice got on my nerves, which brought this down to 3 stars LOL. That may be unfair/bias, but it really dampened my experience.
andrewotey's review against another edition
4.0
It’s a rare instance in which this book shows its age. It was written in the ‘80s, but could just as well have been written last year.
erikofthenorth's review against another edition
4.0
3.9/5 Stars
A dense, well researched book focused on the perils of over consumption of modern day media. I found myself impressed throughout at the seeming prescience of it all, considering it was published in 1985. That being said, it has certainly not aged perfectly. In particular, I found Mr. Postman's penultimate chapter on how television has effected education a bit pedantic and stubborn. That being said, at 160 some pages, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in media's effects on society writ large.
A dense, well researched book focused on the perils of over consumption of modern day media. I found myself impressed throughout at the seeming prescience of it all, considering it was published in 1985. That being said, it has certainly not aged perfectly. In particular, I found Mr. Postman's penultimate chapter on how television has effected education a bit pedantic and stubborn. That being said, at 160 some pages, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in media's effects on society writ large.
tsharris's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointing and dated. And despite what is argued in the foreword by Postman's son, I don't necessarily think that the Internet is simply a continuation of what Postman discusses in AOtD. I buy Postman's argument about the impact of new media on public discourse and political discourse (it's probably contributed to if not caused the radicalization of ideologies), but it's far from the whole story and the Internet means we have a fractured (long-tailed?) public discourse, not the public discourse dominated by three major networks that Postman frets about here. We live in a world in which there are certainly pockets of shallow, trivial discourse but there is also lots of demand for serious, lengthy writing too. Meanwhile, Postman talks a lot about the supply of lousy media, but says very little about the demand side. Why do people demand the trivial? Postman doesn't really have a good answer. Too often this is a cranky rant about American "Neanderthals" - he uses the word as a pejorative at some point - rather than a serious analysis of cultural issues.
raven_reads0409's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve been looking for a source that has a view on anti intellectualism, and this was the perfect book. Although some of postman’s takes are a bit limited (mostly due to this book being published in the 80s), he really altered my perspective on how my mind has changed due to technology. I believe that there is an art form when it comes to film and tv(cinematography), but I agree that tv is mostly there for our mindless entertainment. It’s crazy that this book came out in 1985 and 2023 is filled with the events of book banning, mindless scrolling on social media, and risky advancements in ai. The reason for laugh tracks on tv shows and thousands of ads and commercials have a whole new meaning to me now. Each chapter holds a lot of important value to the reader. His examples make a lot of sense and the irony of some them is very intentional. I think that a lot of people can benefit from this book.
“Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other.”
“Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other.”