Take a photo of a barcode or cover
1.04k reviews for:
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Neil Postman
4.03 AVERAGE
1.04k reviews for:
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Neil Postman
4.03 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
A prescient look at the trajectory of our social discourse from the era of TV dominance. Everything is applicable today. Even if the fears over TV may have been a little overblown from the perspective of 2025, it certainly put our collective brains on the crash course to the current attention crisis presented by smartphones and algorithmically driven attention farms (Instagram, Tic Toc et al).
I think everyone should read this book and it should be required reading for educators.
Its dated but incredibly relevant.
Its dated but incredibly relevant.
challenging
dark
informative
fast-paced
When this book was recommended to me, they said “it reads like it was written this year”. It really doesn’t, many of the illustrations are very dated, and I think if it was written in our day, the Postman who was appalled at the short attention span that can only listen to couple minute television segment would be shocked by the 30 second attention spent for a a tik tok or reel.
However, the trends the author identifies are very much still at work and bear considering. Chapter 8 discussing how religion is impacted by new forms of media was particularly worthy of discussion. Postman doesn’t get to much by way of solution but he identifies a very real problem.
However, the trends the author identifies are very much still at work and bear considering. Chapter 8 discussing how religion is impacted by new forms of media was particularly worthy of discussion. Postman doesn’t get to much by way of solution but he identifies a very real problem.
Wow, for an older philosophical book, it still hits hard. I was pleasantly surprised at the sizeable sections on TV evangelists, and how easily it could translate to online church today, especially in an age impacted by COVID. I was also hyped that Postman mentioned the classroom and whether teaching philosophy that is constantly concerned with keeping kids’ attention and adapting to new trends is actually beneficial for kids at the end of the day. It made me reflect on my own teaching practices and was a lot more practical and closer to home than I expected.
I listened to this on audiobook, and wouldn’t recommend it. There are so many good quotes or sections I wished I could have dog-eared, tabbed, and highlighted. I’ll be getting a physical copy to remedy this asap, but wish I’d known from the beginning how perfect this book would be for where I’m at in life now.
I listened to this on audiobook, and wouldn’t recommend it. There are so many good quotes or sections I wished I could have dog-eared, tabbed, and highlighted. I’ll be getting a physical copy to remedy this asap, but wish I’d known from the beginning how perfect this book would be for where I’m at in life now.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
funny
informative
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced