Amusing Ourselves to Death

Really interesting take on media culture full of ideas that don’t occur to most people. Expected something more to do with media manipulation over the population but it’s much deeper than that. It expresses how the format in which information is conveyed directly influences how our perceptions are formed (I may not have that exactly right, but this book may warrant multiple readings).Having been written in the eighties, when the main source of information was television, it may appear dated since it naturally doesn’t discuss the implications of social media, and there are chapters that could be expanded on regarding newer information technology.However, it is no less important today since the philosophic basis for what the author has to say can be easily applied to our current predicament, and you will find yourself doing so at various points in the book.Anyway it’s highly fascinating and would recommend it to virtually anyone.

This is a history book that explains how America descended from astonishingly high levels of literacy and intellectual interest, to its current lamentable state, reflected certainly in Britain's educational standards. It is well and succinctly written, and shows the disastrous effect that unlimited quantities of useless, unverifiable information have on people. Consider America's 19th century debating societies, the huge vocabularies of the best-selling novels, and compare this with what people prefer today... I have bought copies for friends, and the cover has put some off, for Reagan is long gone, but the text is full of insights, connections, relevant quotes and statistics. Unfortunately the process of ever more trivial, non-stop entertainment, the tidal wave of shallow distraction, is being pushed all over the world. Is it reallypromoting the Abolition of Thinking? Beware, be aware, and read this excellent book.

Excellent. What it does is bring you face to face with the hitherto (by me anyway; you too, probably) unconsidered way in which we all interact with TV and how it has essentially taken over our lives. Nearly everything he says has impact. The difficult bit is then coming to a reasoned conclusion yourself and doing something about it. If you're alive and have a brain, buy it.

The first part of the book focuses on the early influences of typography in America up until the end of the Nineteenth century. There are some fascinating insights into a world without electricity where the only means of communication were the spoken word or the printed word. Political debates attended by public audiences which could last for many hours at a time. There exists at this time a certain awe surrounding knowledge and its attainment.But this is not to last. We see how the advent of the telegraph brings with it a fast and seemingly endless stream of information - too much information! Information we cannot necessarily relate to or process. The media industry is mutating! Then photography enters the scene adding to the complexity of the narrative. A still image can leave a potent impression. This gives the photographer and ultimately the editor huge powers in the creation of this narrative. The choice made between a number of photographs taken in rapid succession can render a politician appearing either sceptical or optimistic in a given context.Part two of the book is primarily concerned with television. There should be sufficient material here to satisfy anyone with a critical eye on the medium. Of particular interest was the passage on how a credible, convincing performance by a politician for example will create a sense of wellbeing amongst the audience which will translate into more votes! You can draw your own conclusions. It may be the case that the flood of news/noise initiated by the telegraph and perpetuated by modern media has simply had the effect of dulling our senses and turning us into information zombies!Also covered are televised religious broadcasts and how charismatic preachers may take advantage of the potential for huge audiences. Religion is made into entertainment as is the only realistic outcome with television. The influence of TV advertising on politics is mentioned. The seductive nature of the carefully crafted visuals inspiring confidence in the target audience. And finally the use of TV in education.`Tyrants of all varieties have always known about the value of providing the masses with amusements as a means of pacifying discontent. But most of them could not have even hoped for a situation in which the masses would ignore that which does not amuse.`

Incredible read. I doubt books or even Authors like this exist today. With ever devolving nature of humanity and indulgences in selfishness, materialism and unGodliness, this book highlights what is wrong with the society today. Recommended read for those who exercise (or acknowledge) the need to dissociate themselves from cognitive distortion.

A fascinating book that I have been meaning to read for a long time, and I am glad that I finally did.At the time of writing this book (mid 1980's) Neil postman was writing about the negative effects of the intrusion of the TV on our social lives. I wonder what he would say if he saw today's internet age wherein ,unfortunately as a society, we are even closer to the 'death by amusement' which he was lamenting back then.

A much needed book to understand the inroads and erosive consequences of so called technological advances.

Despite being published in 1985, this is still entirely and completely relevant. The first half of the book especially is just brilliant.This particular edition is printed very poorly. The cover looks nice and sharp, but the text itself is crude and blotchy. An established publisher like Methuen should be ashamed to release such shoddy product. No, I'm not going to take a star off: it's not Postman's fault and it would still be worth reading the book if it were scrawled by a four year old....

I owned and read this book when it first came out in 1985, but it was lost in various moves. I thought it time to re-read but libraries are closed in Canada due to Covid-19. The late Neil Postman would have drawn a parallel between his proposition and the developments in streaming TV, Facebook, Twitter and social media. The more things change……… The paperback arrived within 48 hours, something Postman would have thought.significant. A great read still.

Das Buch ist wirklich spannend, gerade aus der heutigen Zeit betrachtet. Die Frage, wie Medien den Diskurs systematisch beeinflussen, wird hier sehr interessant beantwortet. Regt zum Nachdenken an.Die Version des Buches ist sehr schlicht, also einfach ein graues Cover mit Titel. Mich stört das nicht, als Inneneinrichtungsgegenstand würde ich das Buch allerdings nicht kaufen. ;)Sehr zu empfehlen!

The dominant culture in America today (2019) is the celebrity culture. Note I don't say that celebrity culture is a strong culture, a good culture or that other, less pervasive, cultures don't exist; i just claim that celebrity culture dominates now. This book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, was published in 1985, over a third of a century ago by Professor Postman. To my mind the book examines the genesis of the rise of the worship of celebrity and its effect on society brought about by the rise of television. You rejoin, but this is the age of the internet, why should I care about the increasingly less relevant technology of TV? Because to understand where you currently are, it is helpful to understand from where you have come. Dr. Postman's book provides that understanding.Technology imposes its own demands on how we think and the way we organize our world. Dr. Postman considers the world fashioned by the printing press and the book. He looks at the 19th century and a world in which ordinary Americans could listen to speeches by Abraham Lincoln and others for hours. He contrasts that with a 20th century world in which Americans listen only to sound bites. I will let the book quote is own verdict on the effect of television from page 92: "I will try to demonstrate by concrete example that television's way of knowing is uncompromisingly hostile to typography's way of knowing; that television's conversations promote incoherence and triviality; that the phrase 'serious television' is a contradiction in terms; and that television speaks in only one persistent voice - the voice of entertainment.... Television, in other words, is transforming our culture into one vast arena for show business."What sort of culture does television produce? The author explores this question. He argues that the entertainment culture severs the context of past and present. Ideas become less important since what we have are not a series of ideas or coherent arguments, but rather an unending series of pictures and visual stimulation. From a personal example, since 1982 I have been involved with presenting various legal conferences. During the first 15-20 years, the papers written and presented at the conferences were the critical information. The papers are still generally provided and partially examined in the oral presentation, but it is now the Power Point presentation that is critical to getting good reviews for a speaker. In most instances without a Power Point (best of all with short film clips and moving figures) the audience would feel the presenter had truly not put out the requisite effort on their behalf.The author cites Robert MacNeil, of the former PBS news program MacNeil-LehrerNewshour as follows: "The idea is, [MacNeil} writes: 'is to keep everything brief, not to strain the attention of anyone but instead to provide constant stimulation through variety, novelty, action and movement. You are not required ... to pay attention to no concept, no character and no problem for more than a few seconds at a time.'" Pg. 122 paperback.Dr. Postman uses Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell as his templates for reviewing where the U.S. is culturally. 1984 engendered fear of oppression, but Brave New World posed an equally troubling world to which society willingly fell under its sway because it amused and entertained us. The internet is TV on steroids, think YouTube, Netflix, et al.I found Dr. Postman's historical and present analysis highly compelling. If the topic interests you, read his book.

Over the last few months Ive become Neil Postman. How could a book about media, but written before the internet age still be valuable? Postman's arguments are somewhat timeless and stand on their own, untethered to any specific social phenomenon or adoration. I really enjoy his no nonsense tone and respect for the readers time and attention. If you want to learn and enjoy a provocative well crafted argument, I think you'll enjoy this book.

he definitely predicted trump. his "epistemology of television" still seems quite accurate, even to youtube and streaming. the basic moral i got out of it: read a book, get educated (which you inherently cannot do through tv because tv is only entertainment, stop kidding yourself), the epistemology (meaning?) of television is idolatry. the mind needs the abstraction of typography.