Empire of Illusion Audiobook By Chris Hedges cover art

Empire of Illusion

The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle

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Empire of Illusion

By: Chris Hedges
Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
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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 level.

In this "other America", serious film and theater, as well as newspapers and books, are being pushed to the margins of society. In the tradition of Christopher Lasch's The Culture of Narcissism and Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges navigates this culture - attending WWF contests, the Adult Video News Awards in Las Vegas, and Ivy League graduation ceremonies - to expose an age of terrifying decline and heightened self-delusion.

©2009 Chris Hedges (P)2018 Tantor Communication & Social Skills Media Studies Personal Development Politics & Government Popular Culture Social Sciences Sociology Words, Language & Grammar Capitalism Socialism
Impeccable Research • Thoughtful Storytelling • Intellectual Brilliance • Sharp Analysis • Prescient Observations
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Sounds like the previous reviewer was upset this book wasn’t what he wanted it to be. The author honestly lays out dire the situation we, as Americans, are in. I’m sorry they didn’t find the hope they were looking for.

Honest

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Hedges consistently brings sharp analysis to U.S. society, the corporate state and imperialism. Excellent book!

Chris Hedges

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Few books I have read that are as erudite and convincing if the absolute collapse of the American empire.

Excellent and rare exposure of the Truth

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While depressing this book is a must read given the current state of affairs. Must purchase

Amazing

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interesting insight and almost crystal balling life in 2021. Went a bit overboard with the porn stories, but was still a great listen.

Great listen, but not when the kids are in the car

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This book is a great immersion into our society and what is causing our division. The rising of authoritarian figures that focus on corporate greed and push us against each other. Knowledge is power and it enable us to become a better world.

Breathtaking Reality of a Country

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Early in the book its examination in minute detail of our garish culture made me feel like a dog whose master shoves its nose in its shit while saying, “No! Bad!” It emphasized the very shallowness of our culture and then carries this over into the shallowness of our politics, our scholarship, and our religion. Written in 2010, it nonetheless anticipated the rise of a shallow, right wing populism that would feel safer under a dictatorship than under the failing structures of our existing order.

Prophetic in its understanding of America’s Future

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listening in 2025 and everything he described in this 2018 book is smacking us dead in the face.

it's like he knew the future

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The world would be a better place. No author has impacted me more than he has. This is my favorite book of his. I just finished it and I think it just changed my life. It's so powerful. His ability to diagnose society is impeccable

I think if more people read Chris Hedges..

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The premise that Americans are distracted by illusion, celebrity status, and trivia is correct. The information could have been delivered without the repeated detailed graphic depictions & statements from porn stars and the descriptive violence regarding wrestling. I wanted the information but it was a painful & disturbing listen. The narrator did not convey that he was disturbed by the graphic reading.

Graphic language describing violence & pornography

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