Book
Amusing ourselves to death : public discourse in the age of show business
Edition
20th anniversary edition.
Publication Information
New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Penguin Books, 2006.
Physical Description
xx, 184 pages ; 20 cm
Summary
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. --Publisher.
Contents
- The medium is the metaphor
- Media as epistemology
- Typographic America
- The typographic mind
- The peek-a-boo world
- The age of show business
- "Now ... this"
- Shuffle off to Bethlehem
- Reach out and elect someone
- Teaching as an amusing activity
- The Huxleyan warning.