The Assault on Reason: Our Information Ecosystem, from the Age of Print to the Age of Trump, 2017 Edition

by Al Gore

Book Overview

Now with a New Preface and Conclusion: "Post-Truth: On Donald Trump and the 2016 Election"

"This book shows a fiery, throw-caution-to-the winds Al Gore, who . . . has decided to lay it all on the line with a blistering assessment of the Bush administration and the state of public discourse in America." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Gore's faith in human nature is braver and sharper than (the cynics)...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143113623
• ISBN13: 9780143113621
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

This is a good book everyone should read.

I paid and ordered the revised 2017 edition. What I received was the original edition. I already have a hardback copy of the 2007 edition.

We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident

On the eve of war with Iraq, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia addresses a virtual empty house on the floor of the Senate and asks why his colleagues are so silent. Why is no one questioning the administration's actions? "Assault on Reason" is an account of how the American public has become apathetic to the world around them, and powerless in feeling that they can shape or influence the decisions our leaders make. Al Gore postulates that the apathy is derived from a communication process that is passive and one-way, mainly television, where there is no exchange of ideas between the receivers and senders as was common before its advent. A compliant and kowed media reports without question the ideas and beliefs of special interests repeatedly until the average American, takes the message as fact. In the hands of leadership that is unchecked or untethered by a vigilant press or legislature, they have been able to use the politics of fear to keep America supportive and unquestioning of their questionable decisions and actions. The press no longer operates as was envisioned by founder Thomas Jefferson who considered an informed public as the most vital to the survival of the democratic process. According to Al Gore, there was nary a peep from press or public when the 9/11 Commission reported that there was no connection between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. With the control of the media in the hands of conglomerates the message is highly regulated. This plays to the politics of wealth and stymies the exchange of information for the common good. When [...] attempted to buy air time on CBS, they were told that "issue advocacy" was not permissible, but at the same time began running ads by the White House in favor of a controversial proposal. If it is about making Americans scared or the carbon crisis, Al Gore makes a case in clear language that there is an assault on reason that will affect and possibly destroy the republic or democracy as we know it, the democracy or republic that has defined the United States of America. Although there were dozens of defining passages in this emphatic, compelling, convincing, and heart-felt narrative, the following jarred me to the core. More than half of college students surveyed could not identify the following as being from the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal." This book illustrates the many avenues in which reason has been challenged, what our moral consequences are when reason is lost, and what we, as Americans, have to do to get it back. We hold these truths to be self-evident. Also recommended (strongly): "Watchdogs of Democracy?" Helen Thomas "Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush" Eric Boehlert "The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and How to Get it Back on Track" Thomas F. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein "Fraud: The Strategy Behind the Bush Lies and Why the Media Ddin't Tell You." Paul Waldman "Losing Americ

I don't read U.S. politics; so why did I read this one?

First let me say that I don't read books about U.S. politics anymore. I love to read nonfiction on just about any topic, including world politics, but I've given up on U.S. politics. I've become resigned to passive powerlessness and hopelessness. So why did I read "Assault on Reason" by Al Gore? I read it because I, like the vast majority of U.S. citizens today, feel strongly that the United States is going in the wrong direction and I wanted to know why. I'd heard that this book took a wise, well-reasoned, and non-biased elder statesman's view on what was wrong and why. Naturally, I was skeptical. Before reading this book, I no more trusted Al Gore than I trusted any other politician. But unlike other politicians, I have grown to respect Gore's active role in bringing the issues of global warming to the forefront of U.S. politics--so it must be, I reasoned, that underneath all that distasteful past impassioned political posturing, was in fact, a highly intelligent and experienced statesman with a strong moral compass. Once I picked up the book, I could honestly hardly put it down. It kept me fully intellectually engaged (and yes, even entertained!) throughout. I felt like the fog had lifted and I was finally able to see clearly where I was. I was in a country that was quickly slipping the moorings of democracy that our Founding Fathers had set so steadfastly over 230 years ago. Here was Gore, of all people, keeping me on the edge of my seat while deftly explaining, in unusually clear, statesman-like prose, what was wrong and why. Here were reasoned arguments backed up by well-researched examples and facts. I kept asking myself: Did Al Gore really write this? The prose was so articulate--it showed a true love for the beauty of well-constructed, well-reasoned argument. I was astounded. I did not know Gore had all this in him! I'm not going to summarize what Gore says in this book. Others have done that here far better than I can. What I do want to stress is that this book is not only very readable, but for this reader at least, an absolute joy to read! Whatever you think about Gore, please put that aside, pick up this book and see if you are not captivated by it after reading the first chapter. And if you finish it, see if you don't come away with a clearer view of why we are headed in the wrong direction and what is needed from all of us to bring our government back on course.

A Book that should be read...by everyone

Not that they will. Reading the reviews and comments, one can safely divide the 'reviewers' into two groups: one side which has actually read the book and in their review either agree and disagree with his findings while the other side loathes Al Gore, hates everything he stands for, and slams the book without bothering to read it as 'liberal drivel'. Zealots so fanatically wedded to their view that 'America' and the Bush Administration are one and the same that any opposing viewpoint, however supported by facts and figures, is rank heresy against both their God and Country. They smear and despise those messengers that see 'that which is' as opposed to fantasies of the 'magic cuckoo land' in which they and 'the decider' seem to reside. Facts, truths simply don't matter, they have their beliefs. So they are blind, deaf, and dumb to the reality of the world simply because they choose to be and they want to keep the rest of us the same way. And what is ironic is that is exactly what Al Gore declaims in this book. For that side generates an unreasoning and obscene babble that attempts to drown out through sheer volume and malice any possibility of a rational and informed discourse about where America is and how it got there. Misinformation, disinformation and plain propaganda 24/7 a deafening drumbeat that makes America deaf and dumb to its own peril. Because America's greatest threat is the monster that has been created within itself. Simply read the book. Al Gore sees an America that has gone very wrong and tries to identify who, what and why the country has got into its present sorry state. He cites historical trends, writings - I see him as a man trying desperately to be heard above the static while still calmly laying out the facts and figures for those who will still listen, shining a light on the truth that has been lost, hidden or simply ignored. In my opinion he should be shouting 'wake up and look around you, for gods sake!' Simply read the book. Then decide what to do about it.

Brilliant insights by the man who lost by Judicial fiat

The man who lost the 2000 presidential election 5-4, takes on, without restraint, the policies and decisions of the man who took office, in a categorical denunciation of the politics of secrecy, cronyism and incompetence. Nearly-President Gore attempts to understand how we've allowed our political system of checks and balances to deteriorate so badly, and puts the blame squarely on politicians who consciously choose to keep us afraid, exploiting evolutionarily selected-for traits that block out reason and search for safety. Gore explores the thesis that for most of the life of this nation, we were a predominantly a literate society in which it was relatively easy to participate in the free exchange of ideas, held nearly sacred in the first amendment to the Constitution. This original American democracy was one in which a well-informed electorate acted as the final check on tyranny. His thesis is that in the last generation we've become a society that gets its news (such as it is) from the more passive and emotionally manipulative medium of television, where the price of entry to being heard at all is nearly prohibitive and only the elite (and large corporations) have a voice. Thus, he argues, politicians and policies are being sold through the technology and the manipulative advertising techniques specifically designed for television, and the price is a demonstrable reduction in the value we place on reason itself. He strings all this together to explain how President Bush has been able to do more harm to American values and freedom than any president in history.

Wishful thinking

Here's a radical idea: Americans can govern themselves best by having clear-headed, reasoned public discussions on the important topics of the day. A thought from Thomas Paine? Your high school civics teacher? No, Al Gore. That's the theme of this clear-headed, reasoned, and yes, even passionate argument on what's wrong with our country and how we can fix it. Yes, it bashes Bush, but how can it not? It's impossible to argue against the chatterbox shrillness of today's public debate without mentioning the subjects being debated. And if you're going to seriously examine Iraq, Katrina and the other issues of the last six years, how can our current President come out looking good? Gore doesn't mince his words. He calls Bush a liar and an irresponsible leader. But he backs up these assertions with a 90-minute Powerpoint presentation worth of clear-headed, reasoned and well-documented argument -- complete with hundreds of footnotes. Divided into three parts, the book's simple structure makes it easy to follow. The opening identifies what Gore contends are the five enemies of reason -- fear, superstition, ideology, deception and intolerance. Middle chapters examine the damage those things have caused, and the last 30 pages offer a few solutions. And just what is that damage? Gore breaks it down into five areas: * The squandering of international goodwill over Iraq has caused a threat to our national security, as the world now fears us instead of respects us. * Ignoring the rational arguments of scientists has weakened our environmental security, as shown by the failure to be ready for the known problems Katrina and global warming would cause. * Our excessive dependence on imported oil continues to weaken our energy security. * Our liberty is threatened when our government uses fear and raw power -- instead of reasoned argument -- to get what it wants domestically. * And finally, Gore says our general welfare is threatened when our government stops serving all its people, and instead skews its policies toward the wealthy and privileged. As for solutions, the book offers only one: Gore in '08! OK, not really. Just wanted to see if you were still with me. Actually, the book closes by arguing that, now more than ever, our citizens must be well informed and must feel like they are part of the political process. It holds out hope that the internet is the key, and that television could play a part by doing things like scheduling Congressional debates in prime time. Gore also claims that we need additional campaign reform, including making contributions more transparent. My favorite part of the book is early on, when Gore argues that the main cause of the decline of reasoned political thought is television. He contends that when more Americans started getting their news from TV instead of newspapers, the emphasis changed from reading, an activity that by its nature activates the parts of the brain involved with reasoning, to watching, which eli