Age of American Unreason: Dumbing Down and the Future of Democracy
by Jacoby, Susan
- Used
- Good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Good
- ISBN 10
- 1905847661
- ISBN 13
- 9781905847662
- Seller
-
GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
Combining historical analysis with contemporary observation, Susan Jacoby dissects a new American cultural phenomenon--one that is at odds with our heritage of Enlightenment reason and with modern, secular knowledge and science. With mordant wit, she surveys an anti-rationalist landscape extending from pop culture to a pseudo-intellectual universe of "junk thought." Disdain for logic and evidence defines a pervasive malaise fostered by the mass media, triumphalist religious fundamentalism, mediocre public education, a dearth of fair-minded public intellectuals on the right and the left, and, above all, a lazy and credulous public.Jacoby offers an unsparing indictment of the American addiction to infotainment--from television to the Web--and cites this toxic dependency as the major element distinguishing our current age of unreason from earlier outbreaks of American anti-intellectualism and anti-rationalism. With reading on the decline and scientific and historical illiteracy on the rise, an increasingly ignorant public square is dominated by debased media-driven language and received opinion.At this critical political juncture, nothing could be more important than recognizing the "overarching crisis of memory and knowledge" described in this impassioned, tough-minded book, which challenges Americans to face the painful truth about what the flights from reason has cost us as individuals and as a nation.From the Hardcover edition.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- World of Books Ltd (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- GOR005730744
- Title
- Age of American Unreason: Dumbing Down and the Future of Democracy
- Author
- Jacoby, Susan
- Format/Binding
- Hardback
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 1905847661
- ISBN 13
- 9781905847662
- Publisher
- Pantheon Bks.,2008
- Place of Publication
- London, United Kingdom
- This edition first published
- 2008
Terms of Sale
World of Books Ltd
If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase for any reason, simply email customerservice@worldofbooks.com and we will quickly resolve any issues you may have. If you have any other queries about your order, please email customerservice@worldofbooks.com. Our goal is to deliver to our customers the best possible service and we hope your experience of dealing with us lives up to our promise. If for whatever reason we fail to meet your expectations then please let us know.
About the Seller
World of Books Ltd
About World of Books Ltd
- Wob: Through Wob, we sell. We provide affordable, preloved books and media to customers all over the world. A book leaves our collection of over seven million titles and begins a new chapter every two seconds, enabling more goods to be reused.
- Ziffit: Through Ziffit, we buy. We give people around the world the opportunity to contribute to the circular economy, earn money and protect the planet, by trading their unwanted books and media.
- Shopiago: Through Shopiago, we help others. By sharing the technology that has grown World of Books Group into the business it is today, we're helping charities increase revenue and reduce waste through re-commerce.