I just finished reading this book(listening actually) and wanted to share. It's Al Gore's most recent book, published last year, and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. In fact, the majority of my thoughts while listening to this book revolved around two ideas. One, Al Gore is awesome. Two, I can't believe we could've had this man as our president for the last eight years.
The book focuses mostly on the idea that reason is no longer employed to make educated and responsible decisions in life, particularly in regards to our political discourse and policy. He spends the first part of the book talking about technology and how we get our information. He talks about radio and television and how their one way nature in communicating information affected us not only from a psychological standpoint but from a neuroscientific standpoint as well(how information from these sources is processed in the brain), and what this has done to political discourse both as a side effect of the technology, as well as knowingly by those with the means and opportunity to take advantage of it. He also talks a bit about fear, what it is, what causes it, and the underlying physiological things going on in the fear response and relates this to political dialogue as well.
He continues from there with what is mostly a scathing indictment of the Bush administration. Not as much specific policies as the manner in which the administration went about making policy decisions and enacting them. Though he does put blame on all politicians and society at large for not doing more about this, while also explaining somewhat WHY we let this happen.
He ends by talking about the internet and its prospect for opening up true open and honest dialog. He sees it in a sense as something that can save democracy given the ease with which it allows people to communicate as well a means for those without money or power to share their ideas and have their voices heard.
It was a really fascinating book. Maybe it was just the liberal elite intellectual in me, but I can't express how gratifying and heart warming it was to hear a politician quoting scientists, philosophers, historians, and world leaders(both past and present) throughout what was a reasoned well thought out analysis of our current situation and how we got here. It expressed all these disparate thoughts I've had over the last few years, as well as some new ideas I hadn't ever put together, and wrapped them in a tight package.
If you haven't read this, I highly recommend it.
One funny note on the audiobook. It's read by the guy who played General Bethlehem in The Postman, this guy, and he reads it in the same way he acted that character. It's kind of off putting at first, but the content was so fascinating that I let it slip away after a bit.
[ December 11, 2008, 03:23 PM: Message edited by: Strider ]
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
hah, I remembered starting a thread about a TED talk of Gore's from a while back and asking about this book. I now have two thread titles with the same exact name!
Thanks Lyrhawn, I probably wouldn't have read it so soon(soon is a relative term in regards to me getting to a book, since i have way too many on my list) if it hadn't been for your review!
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
I'm halfway through it, and stopped in the part where he was pretty critical of the Bush administration. That was right around November, when I got caught up in the election and would much rather read about that than the serious problems with the current administration.
I hope to finish it this break. I'll be back here then!
But I do agree with you with your first point, that Al Gore is awesome. Have you read his first book? Earth in the Balance? I read that a few years ago and couldn't believe that this book isn't more well known.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I'm glad you enjoyed it. It really does raise a lot of alarming questions not just about the state of our world and our democracy in particular, but it asks about the foundations of those things, and given those foundations, I guess you could call it our information infrastructure, given the state of it, what are the chances that we'll be able to adapt to a changing world that requires reasoned responses.
It's only failing I think is that the way it's written limits its accessibility. Which is ironic considering the content.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
I didn't have the problems with the way it was written that you did. I thought it read very well. I do agree there were times he repeated himself, but it seemed to me that it was usually after making a statement, explaining the situation and reasons, and then circling back around to reiterate the point.