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Amusing Ourselves to Death

Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

By: Neil Postman

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Paperback | 27 December 2005 | Edition Number 20

At a Glance

Paperback
208 Pages

Age
18+

Dimensions(cm)
24.9 x 16.5 x 5.7

Paperback

$29.99

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What 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

Industry Reviews

"I can't think of a more prophetic, more thoughtful, more necessary - and yes, more entertaining - book about media culture." -Victor Navasky, National Book Award-winning author of The Art of Controversy

"All I can say about Neil Postman's brilliant Amusing Ourselves to Death is: Guilty As Charged." -Matt Groening, Creator of The Simpsons

"As a fervent evangelist of the age of Hollywood, I publicly opposed Neil Postman's dark picture of our media-saturated future. But time has proved Postman right. He accurately foresaw that the young would inherit a frantically all-consuming media culture of glitz, gossip, and greed." -Camille Paglia

"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

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Society & Culture Media Studies Arts & Entertainment Film, TV & Radio Television Specific Films Engineering & Technology Electronics & Communications Engineering Communications Engineering & Telecommunications Television Technology Sociology & Anthropology

Introduction to the Twentieth Anniversary Edition	p. vii
In 1985 ...	p. xvii
Foreword	p. xix

The Medium Is the Metaphor	p. 3
Media as Epistemology	p. 16
Typographic America	p. 30
The Typographic Mind	p. 44
The Peek-a-Boo World	p. 64

The Age of Show Business	p. 83
"Now ... This"	p. 99
Shuffle Off to Bethlehem	p. 114
Reach Out and Elect Someone	p. 125
Teaching as an Amusing Activity	p. 142
The Huxleyan Warning	p. 155
Notes	p. 165
Bibliography	p. 173
Index	p. 177
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Amusing Ourselves to Death

Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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