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Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies
Noam Chomsky · back to the book
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24 books with the same feel
Include books by the same authorNothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia
Peter Pomerantsev · 272 pages
"Nothing Is True and Everything is Possible is a journey into the glittering, surreal heart of 21st century Russia: into the lives of oligarchs convinced they are messiahs, professional killers with the souls of artists, Bohemian theater directors turned Kremlin puppet-masters, supermodel sects, post-modern dictators, and playboy revolutionaries. This is a world erupting with new money and new pow
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Noam Chomsky, Edward S. Herman · 412 pages
Discusses the ways in which the mass media are manipulated to present the news according to an underlying elite consenus which affects the manner in which similar events in different parts of the world are presented.
Toxic Sludge Is Good for You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry
John Stauber, Sheldon Rampton · 236 pages
Toxic sludge is good for you blows the lid off of today's multi-billion-dollar propaganda-for-hire PR industry, revealing how public relations wizards concoct and spin the news, organize phony "grassroots" front groups, spy on citizens and conspire with lobbyists and politicians. --Publisher.
Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion
Anthony Pratkanis, Elliot Aronson · 432 pages
Americans create 57% of the world's advertising while representing only 6% of its population; half of our waking hours are spent immersed in the mass media. Persuasion has always been integral to the democratic process, but increasingly, thoughtful discussion is being replaced with simplistic soundbites and manipulative messages. Drawing on the history of propaganda as well as on contemporary rese
Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency
Joshua Green · 272 pages
The shocking elevation of Steve Bannon to head Trump's flagging presidential campaign on August 17, 2016, hit political Washington like a thunderclap and seemed to signal the meltdown of the Republican Party. Bannon was a bomb-throwing pugilist who'd never run a campaign and was despised by Democrats and Republicans alike. Yet Bannon's hard-edged ethno-nationalism and his elaborate, years-long plo
All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid
Matt Bai · 263 pages
"The former chief political correspondent for The New York Times Magazine brilliantly revisits the Gary Hart affair and looks at how it changed forever the intersection of American media and politics. In 1987, Gary Hart--articulate, dashing, refreshingly progressive--seemed a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination for president and led George H.W. Bush comfortably in the polls. And then: rumors of
Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right
Ann Coulter · 352 pages
The hottest and most controversial book of the year! Find out who really controls the media in America."[Ann Coulter] is never in doubt. And that, along with her bright writing, sense of irony and outrage, and her relish at finally hitting back at political opponents (especially in the media) is what makes Slander such refreshing and provocative reading."--Los Angeles Times"[Ann Coulter] is a flue
Propaganda and the Public Mind
Noam Chomsky, David Barsamian · 264 pages
From the Publisher: In his latest interview collection, Noam Chomsky offers insights into the institutions that shape the public mind in the service of power and profit. Whether discussing U.S. military escalation in Colombia, the attack on Social Security, the rise of HMOs, or growing inequality worldwide, Chomsky shows how ordinary citizens, if they work together, have the power to make meaningf
Bad Feminist
Roxane Gay · 360 pages
A collection of essays spanning politics, criticism, and feminism from one of the most-watched young cultural observers of her generation, Roxane Gay. "Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be cool, but it is pink, all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read Vogue, and I'm not doing it ironically, though it might seem that way. I once l
The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina
Frank Rich · 346 pages
New York Times columnist Frank Rich examines the trail of fictions manufactured by the Bush administration from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina, exposing the most brilliant spin campaign ever waged.When America was attacked on 9/11, its citizens almost unanimously rallied behind its new, untested president as he went to war. What they didn't know at the time was that the Bush administration's highest pr
The Loudest Voice in the Room: How Roger Ailes and Fox News Remade American Politics
Gabriel Sherman · 568 pages
An inside account of Fox News offers insight into its operations and influence, covering the original launch of the cable news network by Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch and the ways in which Fox has become a dominant force in American politics.
110 People Who Are Screwing Up America:
Bernard Goldberg · 341 pages
Lies & the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair & Balanced Look at the Right
Al Franken · 421 pages
The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things
Barry Glassner · 279 pages
In this eye-opening examination of a pathology that has swept the country, sociologist Barry Glassner reveals why Americans are burdened with overblown fears. He exposes the people and organizations that manipulate our perceptions and profit from our anxieties: politicians who win elections by heightening concerns about crime and drug use even as both are declining; advocacy groups that raise mon
The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You
Eli Pariser · 300 pages
The hidden rise of personalization on the Internet is controlling--and limiting--the information we consume. In 2009, Google began customizing its search results. Instead of giving you the most broadly popular result, Google now tries to predict what you are most likely to click on. According to MoveOn.org board president Eli Pariser, this change is symptomatic of the most significant shift to tak
Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class
Owen Jones · 298 pages
"In this groundbreaking investigation, Owen Jones explores how the working class has gone from 'salt of the earth' to 'scum of the earth'. Moving through Westminster 's lobbies and working-class communities from Dagenham to Dewsbury Moor, Jones lays bare the ignorance and prejudice at the heart of the chav caricature, and reveals a far more complex reality: the increasing poverty and desperation o
You Are Being Lied To
Russ Kick, Russell Kick · 399 pages
Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live in Now--Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Everything
David Sirota · 276 pages
In this wide-ranging and wickedly entertaining book, "New York Times" bestselling journalist David Sirota takes readers on a rollicking DeLorean ride back in time to reveal how so many of our present-day conflicts are rooted in the larger-than-life pop culture of the 1980s.
The No Spin Zone: Confrontations with the Powerful and Famous in America
Bill O'Reilly · 190 pages
Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America
Dana Milbank · 261 pages
Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank takes a look at the unsettling rise of silly Fox News host Glenn Beck. The wildly popular broadcaster, with three million daily viewers, perfectly captures the vitriol of our time and the fact-free state of our political culture. The secret to his success is his willingness to traffic in the fringe conspiracies and Internet hearsay that others wouldn't touch
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
Neil Postman · 184 pages
Amusing Ourselves to Death is a prophetic look at what happens when politics, journalism, education, and even religion become subject to the demands of entertainment. It is also a blueprint for regaining control of our media, so that they can serve our highest goals.