The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
by Chris Hedges
Nation Books, 2009
Comments: I don't normally read much sociology, but the title of this book drew me in. Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist with a background in covering global conflict. Here he turns his attention to domestic affairs, specifically, how the decline of literacy and the rise of an entertainment culture are undermining the evolution of society. He profiles examples from our current social landscape and how they reveal a pattern of decay. Some of the material is difficult to process and definitely not for the squeamish. But in case-after-case there's a sense that he's not wrong. The evidence is there, if we're willing to acknowledge it.
Unfortunately, he has no solutions and offers little hope of reversal -- almost as if the outcome is inevitable. That may be the most disturbing part. He simply describes the events in motion around us, then leaves it for the reader to process. It was not a fun trip to take, but there was a sense of having been shown a deeper insight into human frailty.
Copy Notes: Hardback, second printing
