The Black Swan of American Unreason

books:


	• The Age of American Unreason Susan Jacoby Pantheon, 2008 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 98 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

Smart, but tainted by partisanship

I am glad that I read this book. It deals with critical topics and social issues. Central to the discussion is a distinction between "anti-intellectual" and "anti-rational." For example, there are highly intellectual people who are anti-rational in their social and/or political thinking. In sum, lots to chew on here, and very relevant to our country in this era.

Why only three stars? At times the author is over-confident and/or too outspoken. Her partisanship can undermine what might otherwise be a valuable discussion. For example, in dismissing the proponents of separate sex education she resorts to name-calling and innuendo, using "separate but equal" - terminology that is historically loaded and judicially rejected - to simply dismiss another point of view, rather than give the other side any benefit of scientific doubt. On this topic the author perhaps reveals a lack of understanding of science or at least the specific scientific topic involved.

for more information click here

Worth the read

If you are considering buying this book, you probably already believe what Ms. Jacoby has to say -- the intellectual flabbiness of America is a cultural malady. For a mere $15.00 on the used side, the book is worth your money. For a popularistic look at "Dumb and Dumberness" in the USA, the book does quite well. It does not have the rigor of a scholarly treatise, but that is not its intent. It has sufficient documentation for its purpose and much better than many books. Ms. Jacoby is at times refreshingly insightful, at times long-winded, and sometimes hostile in her criticisms. The last is actually a refreshing touch in today's politically correct climate. You may find yourself saying "Is she really saying that? That's good for some hate mail." While I liked the book and enjoyed the vocabulary (sometimes overly "conflated"), it was hard to get a rhythym to the prose. The book covers a broad spectrum of contributors to intellectual diminuation, but offers little in the way of solutions. Aside from turning off the television and reading the classics of literature to your kids (or for yourself), you won't find a lot of cures for the malady. The analysis, however, is interesting. The author relates a bit of her life story that will help you understand her point of view. With a liberal education and an innate love of literature from an early age, Ms. Jacoby has moved along a path in life where her work enables her to indulge her passion. For those of us who do more mundane things where spending time researching in the library is not part of our jobs, it is tougher to be the erudite person Susan is. She doesn't credit sufficiently the change in general knowledge and technology that makes being totally educated and fully informed more difficult than ever before (never mind the disinformation spread through commercials, etc.). There is more technology in one square foot of the dashboard of my car than there was in my entire home when I was boy. Available knowledge doubles every seven years. More things than Plato and Frost compete for our attention. We must all pick and choose what we can stay abreast of. Ms. Jacoby would probably be challenged to as scientifically knowledgeable as she is literate. At times, she comes across as the person in the poem "I stood on the beach and railed at each wave that broke upon my toes, Until the tide came in and covered up my nose." The digitial/electronic/media age is upon us. There is no retreating and Ms. Jacoby doesn't like it. However, despite these shortcomings in the book, you can still enjoy it and benefit from it. As Ms. Jaocby would likely wish it, you can think for yourself about what she says. It is just a sad fact, that our information like our food, is being prepared by someone else and they don't always do a good job. Investigative reporting has been replaced (in part) by reporting points of view. We will all need to be picky about whom we believe and what we believe. There really are dumb ideas and more courage is needed by individuals to stand up to non sense when they see and hear it. Don't be afraid to be smart, gracefully. Now, go buy the book. P.S. Read a half dozen more reviews and you will get a good sense of the book. The people reading and reviewing are a thoughtful bunch. (Want an idea of how this book would be reviewed by someone following the author's bent. Try this -- The book is a delight of strongly researched material conflated with cleverly sytacted oratory that provides a refreshing indulgence in extended contemplation of the causes and effects of multiple dynamics upon the face of discourse and the heart of reason. Words as vehicles to another universe of persepctive lead to wondered awe at the machinery of cultural change and a sense of loss and powerlessness at righting the listed vessel of collective public intellectual prowess tossed perilously low on a sea of rising ignorance and falling rigor. Oh, woe to the modern sailor wishing a true and honest course to steer. Enough, you get the drift.)

for more information click here

The Black Swan of American Unreason

I recently purchased a book called "The Black Swan" off of Amazon. I am a long-time customer who has purchased many items, but I have never before been so wonderfully surprised about an item I purchased from the site. When the book arrived, I opened the packaging and saw the cover of "The Black Swan". I was keen to begin reading it so I started thumbing through the book. Something seemed amiss so I closed the book and took off the book cover to check the hardback binding. It too read "The Black Swan". So I continued to thumb through the pages. To my amazement, inside the book were the pages of "THE AGE OF AMERICAN UNREASON" by Susan Jacoby!!

I have yet to begin reading either book (I ordered another "The Black Swan" which did arrive in proper condition) but imagine the linkage between the randomness proposition of "The Black Swan" and society's devaluation of knowledge and rationalization precept of "The Age of American Unreason" will be intriguing. Do we seek to rationalize otherwise random events because we no longer value knowledge in our society, or does our arrogance preclude us from prioritizing the accumulation of knowledge, thus leading to poor rationalization of events we experience? Hopefully I will get through both books soon to find out.

Nevertheless, the order was most fulfilling to me because now I have the definitive proof that you can't judge a book by its cover :)

for more information click here

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, page 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

Fundamentalism and anti-intellectualism in the United States
Restoring the American System of Education
Ignorance as a Way of Life
Books I've Read This Year
anti-intellectualism

search for books
age of american, age, american, unreason

Impressum / about us