Empire of Illusion by Chris Hedges - ISBN: 9781568586137
Paperback
America fractured: Truth fades as illusion reigns, a terrifying decline.

Empire of Illusion

The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle

$39.15

  • Paperback

    240 pages

  • Release Date

    5 October 2010

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Summary

We now live in two Americas. One, now the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The other, the majority, is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. To this majority, which crosses social class lines, though the poor are overwhelmingly affected, presidential debate and political rhetoric is pitched at a sixth-grade reading level. In this “other America,” serious film and thea…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9781568586137
ISBN-10:1568586132
Author:Chris Hedges
Publisher:Avalon Publishing Group
Imprint:Nation Books
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:240
Edition:First Trade Paper Edition
Release Date:5 October 2010
Weight:220g
Dimensions:210mm x 139mm x 16mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“A trenchantly argued critique of thenear-destruction of the American Dream by unfettered capitalism.”– Philadelphia Inquirer

“Hedges is a fan of big ideas, and in Empire of Illusion, he draws upon the culture of professional wrestling and pornography, the elite university, positive psychology and the financial crisis to fashion a social theory of everything.” –Winnipeg Free Press
”[Hedges’s] cultural diagnoses have become more prescient and more ubiquitous with time.” –San Antonio Express-News
“A trenchantly argued critique of the near-destruction of the American Dream by unfettered capitalism.” –Philadelphia Inquirer
“Each chapter of Empire of Illusion makes a strong case for how different illusions…taken together are destroying the American mind, culture and the nation itself.” –National Post
“Impassioned, mournful … A welcome contribution to the field of cultural studies.” –Hemispheric Institute
“Remarkable, bracing and highly moral, Empire of Illusion is Hedges’ lament for his nation.” –Maclean’s
“Thoroughly documented and written in a measured but take-no-prisoners tone… . It’s bound to stir up its share of interest-generating controversy.” –Booklist

About The Author

Chris Hedges

Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. He spent nearly two decades as a correspondent in Central America, the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans, with fifteen years at the New York Times. He is the author of numerous bestselling books, including Empire of Illusion, Death of the Liberal Class, War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, and Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, which he co-wrote with Joe Sacco. He writes a weekly column for the online magazine Truthdig. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

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