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The Assault On Reason (2007)
Front Cover Book Details
Genre Non-Fiction
Subject Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-; Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946- - Friends and associates; Democracy - United States; Fear - Political aspects - United States; Official secrets - United States; Political culture - United States; Reason - Political aspects - United States; Reason - Social aspects - United States; Religious fundamentalism - Political aspects - United States; United States - Politics and government - 2001-2009
Publication Date 5/22/2007
Format Hardcover (9.3 x 6.2 mm)
Publisher Penguin Press HC, The
Language English
Extras Dust Jacket; Dust Jacket Cover
Description
A visionary analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism, and blind faith has combined with the degration of the public sphere to create an environment dangerously hostile to reason At the time George W. Bush ordered American forces to invade Iraq, 70 percent of Americans believed Saddam Hussein was linked to 9/11. Voters in Ohio, when asked by pollsters to list what stuck in their minds about the campaign, most frequently named two Bush television ads that played to fears of terrorism. We live in an age when the thirty-second television spot is the most powerful force shaping the electorate's thinking, and America is in the hands of an administration less interested than any previous administration in sharing the truth with the citizenry. Related to this and of even greater concern is this administration's disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained, the tenets of fact-based reasoning-first among them an embrace of open inquiry in which unexpected and even inconvenient facts can lead to unexpected conclusions. How did we get here? How much damage has been done to the functioning of our democracy and its role as steward of our security? Never has there been a worse time for us to lose the capacity to face the reality of our long-term challenges, from national security to the economy, from issues of health and social welfare to the environment. As The Assault on Reasonshows us, we have precious little time to waste. Gore's larger goal in this book is to explain how the public sphere itself has evolved into a place hospitable to reason's enemies, to make us more aware of the forces at work on our own minds, and to lead us to an understanding of what we can do, individually and collectively, to restore the rule of reason and safeguard our future. Drawing on a life's work in politics as well as on the work of experts across a broad range of disciplines, Al Gore has written a farsighted and powerful manifesto for clear thinking.
Personal Details
Store Bookman's
Purchase Price $12.65
Acquire Date 12/23/2011
Condition Very Good/Very Good
Rating 0
Links Library of Congress
Product Details
LoC Classification E902 .G67 2007
Dewey 973.931
ISBN 9781594201226
Edition [1st ed.]
Cover Price $25.95
No. of Pages 320
First Edition Yes
Rare No
Notes/Review
This has been on my "to read" list so long, I forgot exactly what I was thinking when I selected it. It turns out to be two things, in my mind. First, it is a general philosophical look at how reason and facts and logic are being driven from the marketplace of ideas and how this impacts democracy. Second, it is an indictment of the Bush administration and how it has used this assault on reason to perpetrate its reign of error.

I enjoyed the philosophical bits; the general case of how television and radio have supplanted the printed word and made communication one way. Also good was Gore's discussion of various ways power is exchanged for wealth and vice-versa. He tells us how these and other trends impact democracies in general and ours in particular.

The bulk of the book, though, is Gore's indictment of the Bush administration. Gore pulls no punches and details all the major issues. While I find no fault with this, (in fact, I think he does a thorough job) I find it ... a bit shrill and partisan at times. Perhaps it's too close to the events for me to think of it as "history".

I couldn't help but think of some of my right-winger friends while reading this. They are the victims of the assault on reason - they do not accept the facts presented here as facts; they seem in capable of seeing that the general case Gore makes leads to the specific history he cites.

This might be a good book to revisit after a few more Presidents have served. Many of the abuses Bush perpetrated haven't been rectified yet. Will they? Or will the increase of the power of the president be extended yet further? Will the internet change the power dynamic in any fundamental way? Or will our elected officials continue to increase their efforts at fund raising rather than doing their jobs?

Recommended more for the philosophical bits.