|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
by Barbara Ehrenreich
|
by Barbara Ehrenreich
|
by Jonathan Lethem
|
by Anne C. Heller
|
by Barbara Ehrenreich
|
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Review
“Deeply satisfying. . . Motivational speakers, positive prayer, the new Journal of Happiness Studies—these are not the makers of happy, well-adjusted psyches. Instead, Ehrenreich argues convincingly that they are the symptoms of a noxious virus infecting all corners of American life that goes by the name ‘positive thinking.’”—Hanna Rosin, The New York Times Book Review
“In precisely crafted, hard-hitting language throughout, [Ehrenreich] explains how hordes of optimistic American consumers, under the spell of 'new age' authors and psychologists, television preachers and celebrities, visualized and wished (with a lot of help from credit cards) for so much stuff that now they are enmeshed in unwished-for bankruptcy in record numbers.”—Tom Dodge, The Dallas Morning News
“Insightful, smart, and witty. . . She makes important points about what happens to those who dare to warn of the worst.”—BusinessWeek
"Ehrenreich convinced me completely. . . I hesitate to say anything so positive as that this book will change the way you see absolutely everything; but it just might."—Nora Ephron, The Daily Beast
"Ehrenreich delivers a trenchant look into the burgeoning business of positive thinking."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Bright, incisive, provocative thinking from a top-notch nonfiction writer."
—Kirkus, starred review
"Wide-ranging and stinging look at the pervasiveness of positive thinking. . ."
—Booklist, starred reivew
“We're always being told that looking on the bright side is good for us, but now we see that it's a great way to brush off poverty, disease, and unemployment, to rationalize an order where all the rewards go to those on top. The people who are sick or jobless—why, they just aren't thinking positively. They have no one to blame but themselves. Barbara Ehrenreich has put the menace of positive thinking under the microscope. Anyone who's ever been told to brighten up needs to read this book.”—Thomas Frank, author of The Wrecking Crew and What's the Matter with Kansas?
“Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra, Andrew Weil: please read this relentlessly sensible book. It’s never too late to begin thinking clearly.”—Frederick Crews, author of Follies of the Wise: Dissenting Essays
“Barbara Ehrenreich’s skeptical common sense is just what we need to penetrate the cloying fog that passes for happiness in America.”—Alan Wolfe, author of The Future of Liberalism
“In this hilarious and devastating critique, Barbara Ehrenreich applies some much needed negativity to the zillion-dollar business of positive thinking. This is truly a text for the times.”—Katha Pollitt, author of The Mind-Body Problem: Poems
“Barbara Ehrenreich scores again for the independent-minded in resisting this drool and all those who wallow in it.”—Christopher Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
“In this hard-hitting but honest appraisal, America’s cultural skeptic Barbara Ehrenreich turns her focus on the muddled American phenomenon of positive thinking. She exposes the pseudoscience and pseudointellectual foundation of the positive-thinking movement for what it is: a house of cards. This is a mind-opening read.”—Michael Shermer, author of Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time
“Once again, Barbara Ehrenreich has written an invaluable and timely book, offering a brilliant analysis of the causes and dimensions of our current cultural and economic crises. She shows how deeply positive thinking is embedded in our history and how crippling it is as a habit of mind.”—Thomas Bender, author of A Nation Among Nations: America’s Place in World History
Product Description
A sharp-witted knockdown of America’s love affair with positive thinking and an urgent call for a new commitment to realism Americans are a "positive" people—cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: this is our reputation as well as our self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive, we are told, is the key to success and prosperity. In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God wants to "prosper" you. The medical profession prescribes positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for new departments of "positive psychology" and the "science of happiness." Nowhere, though, has bright-siding taken firmer root than within the business community, where, as Ehrenreich shows, the refusal even to consider negative outcomes—like mortgage defaults—contributed directly to the current economic crisis. With the mythbusting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich exposes the downside of America’s penchant for positive thinking: On a personal level, it leads to self-blame and a morbid preoccupation with stamping out "negative" thoughts. On a national level, it’s brought us an era of irrational optimism resulting in disaster. This is Ehrenreich at her provocative best—poking holes in conventional wisdom and faux science, and ending with a call for existential clarity and courage.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?
 |
92% buy the item featured on this page: Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America CDN$ 18.59 |
 |
3% buy What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures CDN$ 17.50 |
 |
3% buy Superfreakonomics CDN$ 18.50 |
 |
2% buy Wolf Hall CDN$ 12.50 |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Most helpful customer reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. |
