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
A Splendid Exchange
Hate Inc.
The Hot Hand
Fate Is The Hunter
Tenth of December
The Demon Under The Microscope
The Internet of Money Volume 2
San Fransicko
Misbehaving
Troublemakers
Probability Theory
Stalin's War
Bass Culture
Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got
The Romance of American Communism
Art of the Living Dead
The Cult of LEGO
How To Shoot Video That Doesn't Suck
The Contrary Farmer
The Dice Man
On Drugs
Rick and Morty Book Four
The Upright Thinkers
Psychopolitics
Food of the Gods
Cuckoo
How to Be Topp
Merchants of Doubt
Age Of Ambition
The Wages of Guilt
Forged in Crisis
The Network State
Lolita
Decoded
The Art of Seduction
Scientific Freedom
Blood and Thunder
God Emperor of Dune
Healing
The Araboolies of Liberty Street
The Formula
Old Man and the Sea
The Hunger Games
Portraits of Interiors
Tree Crops
The Narrow Corridor
Letters from a Stoic
Binti
Inside Trump's White House
Freakonomics
Obsession
The DevOps Handbook
Starlink
Exponential Organizations
The Price of Peace
Natural Capitalism
Physics of the Impossible
100 Deadly Skills
This Brave New World
Roger Ailes: Off Camera
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
Men, Machines, and Modern Times
Ender's Game
Born To Run
Stealing Fire
The Reasonableness of Christianity
Prime Movers of Globalization
Blankie
Farmer's Progress
Childhood and Society
American Exceptionalism
The Graveyard Book
All The Light We Cannot See
Other People's Money
The Politics Industry
Am I Being Too Subtle?
In The Plex
The 5 Resets
No Rules Rules
The Sense of Style
The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need
The Ambiguities of Experience
Facing Codependence
That Used To Be Us
Elvis Cole Series
A Fighting Chance
Impro
Euclid's Elements
The Devil in the White City
The Art of People
Abundance
The Gift of Adversity
Battlegrounds
Trillion Dollar Triage
Wake Up to the Joy of You
The Strange Death Of Europe
A Few Lessons from Sherlock Holmes
The Stopwatch Gang
What Technology Wants
Go To