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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Al Gore explains the importance of the founding principles and values of our democracy and calls for the development of an informed citizenry that will be able to stand up and demand the rights guaranteed in our Constitution.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “I REALLY wanted to like this boo, truly, I did. I'm no fan of George Bush, and I AM a fan of logic and reason. Gore presents quite a few interesting topics, and I would have loved to have been able to read all about them, but I was forced to stop because Gore's writing style simply sucks all the...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“This was a damning analysis of the G.W. Bush era, but has some interesting commentary on the exploitation of the public interest.”
dale D wrote this review Tuesday, November 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Event though I am not have first hand experience on the situations created because of assaults on reason in America, I could think of various similarities here in India; Remarks made by our Law Minister against powers vested on a Judge or the way debates happen in our Parliament or MPs preference to do Parliament Walkout instead of debating, etc. These and other such things that occurred to me, while reading, made this book interesting. The book is interesting for me also because the results of these assaults on reason in America are now quite obvious to the world. Wiseman learns from others mistakes.
Xavier Neduveli wrote this review Thursday, September 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The book is for all who enjoy freedom in a democratic environment and also for people who are planning to leave in one. It reminds us of our duties as citizens. It will certainly push us to be a part of the democracy which we have currently pretty much given to our politician to run it as they wish.
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“Definitely a book of its time, this is generally a response to the politics and tactics of the George W. Bush administration with some analysis of past political history. This latter analysis is what brings a universality to the book and will make students of history and politics want to read it for years to come.”
Jen C wrote this review Friday, August 7 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Gore is thorough and diligent with facts. His "voice" is very clear in his writing.”
Kris A wrote this review Friday, July 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Al Gore- breaking down how society needs to think!”
Scott K wrote this review Friday, July 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This guy should have been president”
John C wrote this review Friday, July 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Never exciting, but a good primer on the excesses and mistakes of the Bush years. ”
Jenny Y wrote this review Friday, June 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“It takes a while to read it. It's dry and not exciting but extremely informative and well thought out.”
Amanda H wrote this review Thursday, March 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Gore has joined my pantheon of political heroes alongside Harry S. Truman and Jimmy Carter. This book is better than Earth in the Balance because he does not hold back from telling the truth in any way.
Mark V wrote this review Tuesday, January 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
If he sounds redundant on pages, it is because he is thorough. He marches straight through and leaves no vacant spot. He has supplied a balance of quotes and supporting arguments for his position and coming from an insider (VP for eight years), he knows what his material well.
Here are some quotes from the book: "Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket" (pp. 94-95). Or, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it" (p. 211).
I think Gore may have been reading Mark Twain.”
“I’ve recently just finished Al Gore’s book Assault on Reason, and I personally found it to be a brilliant book. There was so much knowledge packed in the book. There were such great philosophies on life written by Gore. The philosophies he wrote about were those on life as an American.
paris b wrote this review Sunday, November 30 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Some say that Gore’s book is anti-American, and targets the American government as a failure. But if you read and analyze the book, you see that Gore targets the weaknesses that the American government has by contrasting the current government to that of the government that our founding fathers intended it to be. Some people also say that the book is very negative. However, if you look at all the subjects that the book covers, it basically suggests what we, as Americans, should do to better in our lives so that our government and we can become the strongest nation possible.
The book covers many subjects on the American government. Gore writes about the Bush administration and what he thought they did wrong and that we must change. Lots of Americans think what Gore writes is unpatriotic, but it is truly just doing what any historical critic has ever done to analyze the good and bad that a president has done; only Gore does it while Bush is still in office. He informs the American people in this book that a trend has started among politicians in which they tend to ignore facts and forget to analyze things especially when making policy decisions. Gore also writes about how politicians have become people who only focus on acquiring money, and have gotten caught up with pleasing the public in doing things like taking part in charity events just to get in the public eye-not necessarily to help anyone.
Gore goes into great detail on how he feels that the American people should take charge and be active in restoring democracy in the American government. This is when the books title Assault on Reason comes into play. Gore believes that the American people are becoming too influenced Internet and television, and media in general. He criticizes the media about taking away the printed word. He feels that this has caused a creation of a “marketplace of ideas”. And within the marketplace of ideas the media can control the minds of Americans.
I strongly believe in most of what Gore talks about in his book. The part that I most relate to is when Gore starts to write more about philosophy. “Fear displaces reason, reason challenges faith, and faith overcomes fear (34).” Whether you relate this to politics, religion, or just everyday life, it is a good philosophy to stick to. It can explain why things change or why things aren’t always how you see them. After reading this book and understanding what this quote really means in my life I feel that Gore wrote this book because he feels that there needs to be a change in America and that change starts with the people.
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