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Assault On Reason (Hardcover)

by Al Gore (Author)

4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Penguin Press (HC); 1 edition (May 22 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0739484613
ISBN-13: 978-1594201226
ASIN: 1594201226
Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.7 x 2.5 cm
Shipping Weight: 567 g

Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #69,093 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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#72 in Books > Nonfiction > Politics > United States

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. As scathing as it is meticulous, Gore's treatise on reason juggernauts its way through the Bush administration, never even needing to include the controversial nature of Bush's presidential elections. He identifies the growing concentration of power in the executive branch virtually ignored by mainstream media. Drawing on the great political philosophers of history and his lengthy career in government, Gore contends that the loss of a genuine public forum in the age of radio and television has led to the decay of democracy. He delivers a serious critique of the United States tempered by hope and faith in the restoration of checks and balances. The articulated venom of Gore's words can be heard in Patton's voice as he narrates. He reads with an intensity that makes this already engaging prose compelling. Patton maintains a distinct smooth and edgy voice, but maintains a cadence that reminds listeners of Gore's own speaking mannerisms. In quoting historical figures, Patton's voice is distinct but not haughty or pompous. The combination of Patton's performance and Gore's words make this an impressive audiobook.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From AudioFile

The former vice president offers his political treatise on how the United States is at risk of losing the essence, and possibly the reality, of the democracy that makes our nation unique. The biggest danger lies in the fact that what once was a two-way conversation about American government is now strictly one-way, with the primary medium being 30-second TV commercials, which are little more than propaganda most of the time. As Americans become disconnected from the political system, the system is danger of dissolving. Will Patton's mildly casual reading (occasionally dropping the "g" from verb forms ending in "ing") takes some of the edge off Gore's, at times, intense academic style. Patton also pauses often for emphasis, even within sentences, to let the listener grasp the importance of a point. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

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4.1 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Stemming the erosive tide, Dec 29 2007

By	Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Erosion is a subtle force. Quiet and persistent, the force wears away an object until it fades away or suffers catastrophic collapse. Al Gore sees an erosive force chipping away the foundation of his nation. Reason and informed decision-making, he argues, have been replaced by the politics of fear. With unprecedented threats raised - even successfully launched against his country - he accepts that fear has become a significant part of the social and political scene. However, he contends, fear must not blind people nor divert them from seeking truthful answers to pertinent questions. Among those queries is the highly pertinent one of whether the US was led into a war by lies and deceptions. The invasion of Iraq was sanctioned by fear rather than reasoned examination of its causes.

Gore's opening chapter discusses the politics of fear and why the brain sustains it. The presentation can only be described as "clinical". One can only wonder why Gore thought it useful to open the book with this examination of brain mechanisms, instead of offering the information in an appendix. It is accurate, and certainly pertinent, but those who sympathise with the author's concerns don't truly need the cognitive science. Those who fail to see the threat of the politics of fear will either ignore the science or reject its meaning. How the brain reasons is of no concern to them. They only wish to apply ways of controlling the process. This type of start is not a good method of recruiting readers to a cause - it will only confuse them at the outset.

The remainder of the book is essential reading for anybody concerned with today's political environment. Gore argues that communication in today's world has undergone a severe departure from past practices. Once, communication between politicians, in or contending for office, was based on two-way communication. Electronic methods shifted the mechanism to broadcaster and listener/viewer. As radio permitted European dictators to rise and control the flow of information, television has made one-way communication stronger than ever. The politics of fear relies on gaining control of what people think about, and TV has been a major force in that process, Gore argues. The politics of fear extend their reach far beyond a war instigated by deception. He shows how the Bush administration has used that power to promote some policies while diverting attention from others. Illegal surveillance tactics, intrusion into personal life and favouritism toward special interests have become endemic.

The process has been so effective that the proportion of the US population believing Iraq possessed WMDs at the time of the invasion has only dropped to almost half from three-quarters. That, in view of total lack of evidence to support the belief. Yet, favoured businesses and other special interests have continued to benefit. A staunch patriot, the author sees the loss of reasoned discourse in viewing these matters as a serious threat to the future of his country. How far can the politics of fear take a modern nation, and what can be done about it?

It's a pity that the author's focus is so tight. He describes the rise of 20th Century European dictators, but fails to note commonality in anything but method. The Prime Minister of Britain led his nation along the same path to an unjustified war using the same tactics, while Canada escaped involvement by a hair's breadth. Where Gore's sight is limited in one area, it's a bit overextended in another. It's nice to have a background to work from, and the author's political capabilities contain a genetic base. Still, the number of personal asides in this book are mostly unwarranted and contribute little. A "campaign-style" statement of methods to improve reasoned dialogue in his nation wouldn't have gone amiss. While he sees a combination of TV and the Internet as a useful means, both remain in the pockets of the very special interests he disparages. A book very worthy of reading, but hardly the final word on a subject with such broad implications. The diminishment of reason is another "inconvenient truth" we must all restrain as it floods our society, but this book is only the first sandbag. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

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3.0 out of 5 stars Looking for Reason? Don't Look Here, Aug 6 2008

By	Coach C (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The transformation of Al Gore from the dull Washington lifer who once made the preposterous claim that he invented the Internet to Nobel Peace Prize winner and savior of Planet Earth has really been quite remarkable.

In "The Assault on Reason", Gore attempts to parlay his success as environmental activist back into political commentator. As much as I love Gore 2.0, I can't give this book 2 thumbs up.

There are two major gripes that have with this anti-bush polemic. First, the book is completely devoid of original content. Gore stitches together a series of borrowed analyzes and passes them off as his own original argument. Second, while it is easy and indeed convenient to preach from the New Left pulpit and "kick a man while he's down", Gore neglects to admit the many democratic party plunders over the past 60 years that have been equally destructive and irrational.

It is truly unfortunate that the only "Assault on Reason" is the one on this book. After watching and reading his brilliant "An Inconvenient Truth", it appeared "The New Gore" was back with a vengeance only to fall from grace with this regrettable book.

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3.0 out of 5 stars The Assault on Bush, Oct 17 2007

By	Deborah Riddick - See all my reviews

I was disappointed by this book because of Mr Gore's obsession (most of it not displaced, I grant you) with everything that is now wrong with the world being the fault of the Bush administration. I am as aware as anyone of the faults of this government, but I had been hoping for a more wide-reaching analysis of the demise of reason and thinking in society. I had expected an analysis of all of the players who are dumbing down our world: from corporations, to the media, to religious groups, to our own education system, but Mr Gores argument always seems to be that these things only happen because Bush allows them too. I dont want to sound like a Bush fan when I am quite the opposite, and was as enraged as anyone when he stole the election from Mr Gore in 2000, but there are other players at work in our world besides him. Making fun of and pointing blame at Bush has become a national pastime that has been done by many people funnier or more eloquent than Al Gore. The book isnt so much an analysis of the Assault on Reason, and more of an Assault on Bush.

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