The Assault on Reason by Al Gore and Albert Gore (2007, Hardcover)

Synopsis
An analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism, and blind faith has created an environment dangerously hostile to reason. We live in an age when the 30-second television spot is the most powerful force shaping the electorate's thinking, and America is in the hands of an administration less interested than any previous administration in sharing the truth with the citizenry. Of even greater concern is this administration's disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained--an open inquiry in which unexpected and even inconvenient facts can lead to unexpected conclusions. Never has there been a worse time for us to lose the capacity to face the reality of our long-term challenges. Gore aims to make us more aware of the forces at work on our own minds, and to lead us to an understanding of what we can do to safeguard our future.--From publisher description.

It has become commonplace to say that the public is tired of politics and politicians, and is so disenchanted with business as usual in Washington that people are opting out of participating. Now, it seems, the politicians themselves are tired, too. In ASSAULT ON REASON, Al Gore tells us that the state of public discourse is so low that our very democracy is threatened.Gore argues that the fault lies with ourselves--politicians, parties, the media, and the citizenry. True, he is pointedly critical of the administration of President George W. Bush, for reasons stated in the subtitle and under whose watch the debasement he speaks of has taken place. He is specific about how the checks and balances and other protections put in place by the founding fathers have been flouted, and how Congress, in his view, seems to have rolled over. But he comes not to blame, but to rebuild. To dig ourselves out of the hole we are in, Gore would restore openness and healthy debate to the public sphere, along with a good dose of reality. Reason and good faith must rule over personalities and partisanship. By the end, Gore's book is a call to action, and a challenge to the only ones who can bring about change: "We, the people."

Key Details
Author:	Al Gore, Albert Gore
Language:	English
Publisher:	Penguin Pr
Format:	Hardcover
ISBN-10:	1594201226
ISBN-13:	9781594201226

Additional Details
Narrated by:	Will Patton

Size
Length:	308 pages
Thickness:	1.2 in
Weight:	20.8 oz

Publisher's Note
A visionary analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism, and blind faith has combined with the degration of the public sphere to create an environment dangerously hostile to reason

At the time George W. Bush ordered American forces to invade Iraq, 70 percent of Americans believed Saddam Hussein was linked to 9/11. Voters in Ohio, when asked by pollsters to list what stuck in their minds about the campaign, most frequently named two Bush television ads that played to fears of terrorism.

We live in an age when the thirty-second television spot is the most powerful force shaping the electorate's thinking, and America is in the hands of an administration less interested than any previous administration in sharing the truth with the citizenry. Related to this and of even greater concern is this administration's disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained, the tenets of fact-based reasoning-first among them an embrace of open inquiry in which unexpected and even inconvenient facts can lead to unexpected conclusions.

How did we get here? How much damage has been done to the functioning of our democracy and its role as steward of our security? Never has there been a worse time for us to lose the capacity to face the reality of our long-term challenges, from national security to the economy, from issues of health and social welfare to the environment. As The Assault on Reason shows us, we have precious little time to waste.

Gore's larger goal in this book is to explain how the public sphere itself has evolved into a place hospitable to reason's enemies, to make us more aware of the forces at work on our own minds, and to lead us to an understanding of what we can do, individually and collectively, to restore the rule of reason and safeguard our future. Drawing on a life's work in politics as well as on the work of experts across a broad range of disciplines, Al Gore has written a farsighted and powerful manifesto for clear thinking.

An analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism, and blind faith has created an environment dangerously hostile to reason. We live in an age when the 30-second television spot is the most powerful force shaping the electorate's thinking, and America is in the hands of an administration less interested than any previous administration in sharing the truth with the citizenry. Of even greater concern is this administration's disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained--an open inquiry in which unexpected and even inconvenient facts can lead to unexpected conclusions. Never has there been a worse time for us to lose the capacity to face the reality of our long-term challenges. Gore aims to make us more aware of the forces at work on our own minds, and to lead us to an understanding of what we can do to safeguard our future.--From publisher description.

An analysis of the consequences of the Bush administration's fear, secrecy, and faith-based initiatives explains how the administration has dangerously compromised America's capacity for addressing long-term challenges.

An analysis of the consequences of the current administration's fear, secrecy, and faith-based initiatives explains how the Bush administration has dangerously compromised America's capacity for addressing long-term challenges, from national security and the environment to health care and economic stability.

Industry Reviews
"...Gore's professorial style, with its touches of sarcasm, omniscient tone, erudite asides and exasperated sighs, elicits a different response today than it did seven years ago....The change in attitude is as obvious as the reason behind it: The overwhelming scientific consensus has since confirmed Gore's years of warnings about the most important issue facing the planet....Even when he is saying something we already know, his voice adds a note of prophetic confirmation."
(06/03/2007)

"But this isn't a campaign book or another venture in teaching and advocacy. It's a deep public remonstrance, inspired a little by Tom Paine's COMMON SENSE, which combined anger at King George III in his day with larger arguments that the institution of monarchy itself had become a threat to our liberties. Gore is no Paine, but he argues persuasively that Bush's tenure is no longer a constitutional presidency. The book is part polemic, part impeachment in hard covers."
(05/23/2007)