Review - Book Report/Review Example

To students, the book is insightful in illuminating the truth about the compromises that amusement on television comes with and therefore as a warning that priority should not be given to appearance but rather the content of what is being presented on television. One of the most striking features of this book is the title. The title, Amusing ourselves to death… has many interpretations that are of interest to the reader. One of the possible interpretations is that there is a danger in prioritising amusement since it can lead into death.

Death here is not necessarily the ultimate loss of life but rather the sacrifice that is made on human rights. (Postman 1). Just like it comes out in the book, television is said to be concentrating on the beauty with which content is presented rather than the richness of the content itself. (Postman 1). In doing so, the watchers are then entertained to the extent that that even they are lured into accepting even content that is not suitable for their consumption. Another striking feature of this book is the historical approach that Postman takes.

This places his book into some historical context that facilitates a comparative evaluation of the ideas he posits against the ideas of other thinkers. In his introduction Postman summarizes Orwell and Huxleys earlier predictions about the future of communication. Orwell’s fear is that the world will be destroyed by what people hate while Huxley argues that the world will be destroyed mainly by what people like most (Postman, 1). In order to have a strong argument in support of the misdoings of the television, Postman then goes for Huxley’s sentiments.

Grounding on this, then it is evident that these are well paced arguments in tune with time and the changes on the scenes of the happenings around the world. Thirdly, the arguments that Postman puts across are both realistic and thought-provoking. For instance, the fact that television production