ambwreadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I almost DNF’ed this book like 3 different times because it was making me so anxious about the state of our world. Which is probably the point. Well researched and presented but man… I’m stressed
catbooking's review against another edition
3.0
I know this was intended as a current events snapshot and not really a deep investigative look into things, but when the topic of discussion is lack of depth in discussions it seems rather hypocritical. My other issues was with presenting some aspects of media influence as if it was a newly discovered thing, while Chomsky wrote about it decades ago, only he didn't focus on fascism communism and the Russian boogeyman but on western media.
Mostly, I used the book to find other books to read, ones I have not yet had the pleasure of reading, but on the whole I was a bit uncomfortable with the whole hypocrisy thing.
Mostly, I used the book to find other books to read, ones I have not yet had the pleasure of reading, but on the whole I was a bit uncomfortable with the whole hypocrisy thing.
davehershey's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fantastic little book about the death of objective truth in our culture. Kakutani offers a critique of postmodern relativism, showing us how the loss of belief in truth has come about and affects how we live. I agree with what she says and wish more people would read this book.
Therein lies why I gave it 3 and not 4 or 5 stars. I doubt anyone who is already a fan of Trump is going to read this, and even if they did I doubt they'd be convinced. Thus, Kakutani is preaching to the choir. Those of us who hate what the rise of Trump has revealed will relish this book; it will make us feel good about ourselves. But what's the way forward? How do we even begin to fix things? There's not much here on that point.
Along with that, in preaching to the choir Kakutani misses a chance to be more critical of where the left has gone along with the death of truth. To be fair, when she offers brief history of where the attack on objective truth came from, she targets the left. I just wish she had made more a point to show how in ignoring truth, it was as if conservatives had decided to play the left's game or to use the tools the left had built in the rise of postmodernism. I had a book back in seminary called Death of Truth about postmodernism and I wonder how many who highly reviewed such a book 15 years ago now ignore Trumps' killing of truth? Tracing the irony of the rise of postmodernism on the right, which began in liberal schools, would have been great.
It also would have provided Kakutani an opportunity to show it is not just the right who rejects truth. Rather than affirming her readers as the virtuous opponents to Trump, she could have challenged them a bit more. I am not saying this as if to say both sides are equally guilty. But there is still some science to be said about, to use one example, the reality of two distinct genders. There are those on the extreme left who reject science to argue gender is completely a social construct (it certainly partially is social, but biology is still a thing). Such examples are easy for conservatives to point to, especially when the feel attacked by self-righteous liberals.
Overall, I did like this book. I just think she should have spent more time challenging her audience rather than preaching to the choir.
Therein lies why I gave it 3 and not 4 or 5 stars. I doubt anyone who is already a fan of Trump is going to read this, and even if they did I doubt they'd be convinced. Thus, Kakutani is preaching to the choir. Those of us who hate what the rise of Trump has revealed will relish this book; it will make us feel good about ourselves. But what's the way forward? How do we even begin to fix things? There's not much here on that point.
Along with that, in preaching to the choir Kakutani misses a chance to be more critical of where the left has gone along with the death of truth. To be fair, when she offers brief history of where the attack on objective truth came from, she targets the left. I just wish she had made more a point to show how in ignoring truth, it was as if conservatives had decided to play the left's game or to use the tools the left had built in the rise of postmodernism. I had a book back in seminary called Death of Truth about postmodernism and I wonder how many who highly reviewed such a book 15 years ago now ignore Trumps' killing of truth? Tracing the irony of the rise of postmodernism on the right, which began in liberal schools, would have been great.
It also would have provided Kakutani an opportunity to show it is not just the right who rejects truth. Rather than affirming her readers as the virtuous opponents to Trump, she could have challenged them a bit more. I am not saying this as if to say both sides are equally guilty. But there is still some science to be said about, to use one example, the reality of two distinct genders. There are those on the extreme left who reject science to argue gender is completely a social construct (it certainly partially is social, but biology is still a thing). Such examples are easy for conservatives to point to, especially when the feel attacked by self-righteous liberals.
Overall, I did like this book. I just think she should have spent more time challenging her audience rather than preaching to the choir.
graygirlgames's review against another edition
5.0
The references, quotes, and general research in this book is great. It's a bone-chilling read. Highly recommend it.
ajoshi21's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.0
Michiko Kakutani does an incredible job of painting the vast landscape of the development of modern American politics and how it entwines with the Internet in order to inform the reader of how and why Trump was able to rise to power. For those who desire to learn more about the dangers of modern extremism and party politics, this book is a must-read.
lisa_mc's review against another edition
4.0
A clear, well-researched, engagingly written treatise, touching on philosophy, history, politics, psychology and journalism. Too bad the people who most need to read it won’t.
nj_14's review against another edition
2.0
It's not that I disagreed with anything in this book, it's just that I feel like it didn't add any value to anything