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By Chris Hedges
Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
When I find a book that challenges me to think and question, I want to shout about it to the world. This is, indeed, one of those books. It’s far more than that, however, for it clearly illustrates how fantasy, illusion, and escapism infuse our society, economy, and political system as one reviewer noted. It doesn’t require a stretch to accept his observations; if you are a media user and an observer of popular culture, you will easily (and readily) confirm what he writes.
Chris Hedges is a terrific writer, and the material he writes about here (literacy, love, wisdom, happiness, and America) closely relate to all of us. This is one of those “must read” books that will not only capture your imagination but will dwell in your thoughts long after you put this book down.
I thought his selection of subjects was excellent, his use of other thinkers and writers for support of his observations was outstanding, and his obvious reporter skills for precision and accuracy were well demonstrated. Yes, it is “gloom and doom”; however, I truly believe that he is on the right track. He does not set out to solve the problems he details, nor is he into “future gazing.” He simply and methodically reports — as a competent reporter should. And what he writes about, whether it is pro-wrestling, the porn industry, celebrity culture, or the dumbing down (corporate takeover) of higher education (and “the military-industrial-academic complex” (p. 91), is not just engaging, it overwhelms the senses.
He writes in Chapter 5, “The Illusion of America”: “At no period in American history has our democracy been in such peril or the possibility of totalitarianism as real. Our way of life is over. Our profligate consumption is finished. Our children will never have the standard of living we had. This is the bleak future. This is reality. There is little President Obama can do to stop it. It has been decades in the making. It cannot be undone with $1 trillion or $2 trillion in bailout money. Nor will it be solved by clinging to the illusions of the past” (p. 145).
This is an important book, and as I said at the outset of this review, it is truly a “must read” for everyone. We live in a time where spectacle triumphs!
This book can be found at Amazon.com: Empire of Illusion: The end of literacy and the triumph of spectacle
Book Club... And Then Some!
Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
by Chris Hedges
Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
“The sky is falling, the sky is falling,” said Chicken Little. In Hedges’ book, one reviewer—Jiang Xuequin of Toronto, Canada, says, “Chris Hedges writes in the lucid and cogent manner of a powerful intellectual who has become disgusted and contemptuous, angry and frustrated at the lame and stupid culture he finds himself suddenly imprisoned in. Unfettered market capitalism, corporate interests, and America’s oligarch have conspired to create a ‘brave new world’ of lies and stupidity that everyone hold dearly to be truth and wisdom.” Now, doesn’t that just sound like Chicken Little—"’The sky is falling,’ has passed into the English language,” says Wikipedia, “as a common idiom indicating an hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent.” I am not suggesting that Hedges is mistaken, but what I am suggesting is that his plea is intense and, perhaps, even hysterical. (Actually, I love it!)
Hedges includes five essays here: “The Illusion of . . . 1) Literacy, 2) Love, 3) Wisdom, 4) Happiness, and 5) America. Within these categories, Hedges draws his examples from industries as diverse as entertainment, wrestling, pornography, education, testing, wellness, celebrity, news, defense, armaments, health care, infrastructure, transportation, finance, and more.
The overall conclusion by Hedges is captures well by Xuequin in his review, and it’s a position I fully support as well: “People have chosen, and given a choice they have proven to everyone that they will do what human nature dictates and choose to live lives where they can enjoy their laziness and stupidity, and ignore critics who are trying to get them to read books and criticize.”
This is a well-written, meticulous, shocking yet honest, thorough analysis of how the American public is being seduced by advertisements, reality television, infotainment, and the “social” Internet, and how they are pathetic slaves to what they hear (and believe) on television, radio, and the Internet.
Hedges writes, “A public that can no longer distinguish between truth and fiction is left to interpret reality through illusion.” The book is a relevant, real, sombering wake-up call that everyone should read. Yes, “the sky is falling,” and Hedges offers a wonderful, captivating, well-researched and documented explanation of where and why it is happening and how everyone will be affected. Read it.
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This book is available from Amazon.com: Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
