Author: Al Gore

Publisher: Penguin Press HC

Pub. in: May, 2007

ISBN: 1594201226

Pages: 320

Measurements: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches

Origin of product: USA

Order code: BA01018

Other information: ISBN-13: 978-1594201226

Language: American English

Al Gore is the Nobel Prize winning author of the Oscar-winning documentary (and companion book), An Inconvenient Truth. This book is also the #2 in U.S. politics category on Amazon.com as of October 21, 2007.

Its always good when an author backs up his conclusions with good sound science especially when that author is a well known politician who certainly has his views. In his book The Assault on Reason Al Gore does just that. He hypothesis that most of the ills plaguing our political system have their roots in psychology, thereby, linking all of our recent foibles in elected political officials to the last several decades. Gore takes us on a quick tour of the human mind which is basically, partial to sound bites and visual stimuli and, through the automatic flight or fight response, highly susceptible to stress making us easy prey to the drug of television and other media. He then observes that conservatives, particularly the current Bush administration, are particularly adept at capitalizing on the quick sound bite and the politics of fear.

Drawing on personal experience, scientific research, and insight into legal and political issues, Gore's political beliefs and unique insight on environmental issues can be seen throughout the book. Indeed, with the onset of global climate change and the pending breakdown of many ecological systems, for many who are beginning to ask, "Why didn't we listen to the environmentalists!", Gore's book comes at a perfect time. Now even, with Newt Gingrich now calling himself an environmentalist, you know things are pretty bad. Yet, it is not too late, if even those who used to laugh at things like global warming are willing to recognize the causes of the environmental crises, then it is easy to start taking steps to do something about them.

To this end and Gore, courageously treads on the forbidden ground of placing the blame for the nations political demise squarely were it lies - in the hands of the voters. Our tendency to be duped by the media and slick politicians, it seems, has never been healthier as illustrated by recent presidential and congressional elections, whom we enthusiastically placed into office only to find that the corruption and resignations seem to have reach pandemic proportions.

Yet, ironically, according to Gore, because we have only ourselves to blame for environmental and other problems we have created through our bad choices, we are the ones most equipped to do something about it. Gore inspires us to hope, as vividly illustrated by the message voters sent to capital hill after the 2006 congressional elections, that there is finally public and political momentum to take back the capitol and recover or dignity.


(From quoting Harold S. Shepherd, USA)


****

Al Gore to Amazon.com readers:

I've dedicated my book, The Assault on Reason, to my father, Senator Albert Gore Sr., the bravest politician I've ever known. In the 1970 mid-term elections, President Richard Nixon relied on a campaign of fear to consolidate his power. I was in the military at the time, on my way to Vietnam as an army journalist, and I watched as my father was accused of being unpatriotic because he was steadfast in his opposition to the War - and as he was labeled an atheist because he dared to oppose a constitutional amendment to foster government-sponsored prayer in the public schools. The 1970 campaign is now regarded by political historians as a watershed, marking a sharp decline in the tone of our national discourse - a decline that has only worsened in recent years as fear has become a more powerful political tool than trust, public consumption of entertainment has dramatically surpassed that of serious news, and blind faith has proven more potent than truth.

We are at a pivotal moment in American democracy. The persistent and sustained reliance on falsehoods as the basis of policy, even in the face of evidence to the contrary, has reached levels that were previously unimaginable. It's too easy and too partisan to simply place the blame on the policies of President George W. Bush. We are all responsible for the decisions our country makes.

Reasoned, focused discourse is vital to our democracy to ensure a well-informed citizenry. But this is difficult in an environment in which we are experiencing a new pattern of serial obsessions that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time - from the O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson trials to Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith.

Never has it been more vital for us to face the reality of our long-term challenges, from the climate crisis to the war in Iraq to the deficits and health and social welfare. Today, reason is under assault by forces using sophisticated techniques such as propaganda, psychology, and electronic mass media. Yet, democracy's advocates are beginning to use their own sophisticated techniques: the Internet, online organizing, blogs, and wikis. Although the challenges we face are great, I am more confident than ever before that democracy will prevail and that the American people are rising to the challenge of reinvigorating self-government. It is my great hope that those who read my book will choose to become part of a new movement to rekindle the true spirit of America.

(Copyright: Amazon.com)

Target readers: People interested in the U.S. politics and world affairs as well as people in interested in Al Gore and climate change.