Amusing Ourselves to Death

Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business

Neil Postman

Recommended By

Book Reviews

One of the books Keith Rabois recommends for entrepreneurs.

Book Synopsis

"Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman is a thought-provoking examination of how entertainment and media culture have profoundly shaped our society.

Postman argues that the age of television has transformed public discourse and undermined our ability to engage in serious, meaningful conversations. He contends that the rapid rise of visual media has replaced the written word as the primary mode of communication, leading to a society obsessed with entertainment rather than thoughtful reflection.

Through insightful analysis and examples, Postman explores various aspects of this phenomenon. He examines the influence of advertising on our culture, explaining how messages are manipulated to appeal to emotions rather than reason. He also investigates the impact of news as entertainment, suggesting that our obsession with sensationalism has hampered our ability to comprehend complex issues.

Furthermore, Postman highlights the dangers of "infotainment" and the ways in which television has transformed education. He questions the effectiveness of teaching through visual media, arguing that it promotes shallow learning and discourages critical thinking.

In conclusion, "Amusing Ourselves to Death" offers a compelling critique of our media-saturated society. Postman calls for a renewed focus on the written word and active participation in public discourse as a means to foster a more thoughtful and engaged society.

Explore More Books

See All
The Agile Gene
How to Make Millions with Your Ideas
In the Heart of the Sea
The Hot Hand
The Anatomy of Buzz
A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis
The Infidel and the Professor
The Bullish Case for Bitcoin
How To Turn Down A Billion Dollars
Happy Money
Beating The Street
Sea Flight
More Than Enough
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
The Great CEO Within
Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero
Taken for Granted
Bend The Curve
Superforecasting
100 Plus
Billy Martin
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
The Art of Seduction
The Neverending Story
The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All
The Attention Merchants
12 Rules For Life
The Net & The Butterfly
Endure
The Story of Civilization: The Age of Louis XIV
The Psychology of Intelligence Analysis
Something Deeply Hidden
Opportunity Knocks
The Construction of Social Reality
Trillion Dollar Triage
The Botany of Desire
The Skeptical Environmentalist
Scale
The Little Book of Bull Moves
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind
Einstein
Product Design for the Web
The Surrender Experiment
The Bet
Double your Profits
The Closing of the American Mind
Hidden Potential
Blue Ocean Strategy
Talent Is Overrated
Mohammed and Charlemagne
Makers
Posterity: Letters of Great Americans to Their Children
Home Work
The Fear Factor
Viral
Technofeudalism
Putin's Kleptocracy
The Alchemist
Art of the Living Dead
Natural Born Heroes
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross
No Bull
Innovating Out of Crisis
Bargaining for Advantage
Paper Lion
Matthew Barney & Elizabeth Peyton
An Immense World
The True Believer
Modern Engineering for Design of Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines
Roger Ailes: Off Camera
Nobody Wants To Read Your Sh*t
The Healing Journey
The Science of Success
A Mathematician's Lament
Chasing the Light
Mapping the Mind
Gold In The Grass
A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things
Not Fade Away
The Tao of Charlie Munger
Margin of Safety
Stress Test
My Family and Other Animals
The Inner Lives of Markets
Confidence Game
Absolute Tao
Dream Big
Origin Story
Endurance
The Man Who Fed The World
You Can Be a Stock Market Genius
Freakonomics
The Story of Civilization: The Reformation
Every Life Is On Fire
Measure What Matters
Black Elk
Traction
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
The Weather Makers
Nietzsche: Beyond Good and Evil