Book Description
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 priority was not to vanquish Al Qaeda but to consolidate its own power at any cost. It was a mission that could be accomplished only by a propaganda presidency in which reality was steadily replaced by a scenario of the White House's own invention-and such was that scenario's devious brilliance that it fashioned a second war against an enemy that did not attack America on 9/11, intimidated the Democrats into incoherence and impotence, and turned a presidential election into an irrelevant referendum on macho imagery and same-sex marriage.
As only he can, acclaimed New York Times columnist Frank Rich delivers a step-by-step chronicle of how skillfully the White House built its house of cards and how the institutions that should have exposed these fictions, the mainstream news media, were too often left powerless by the administration's relentless attack machine, their own post-9/11 timidity, and an unending parade of self-inflicted scandals (typified by those at The New York Times). Demonstrating the candor and conviction that have made him one of our most trusted and incisive public voices, Rich brilliantly and meticulously illuminates the White House's disturbing love affair with "truthiness," and the ways in which a bungled war, a seemingly obscure Washington leak, and a devastating hurricane at long last revealed the man-behind-the-curtain and the story that had so effectively been sold to the nation, as god-given patriotic fact.
Customer Reviews:
Too much sarcasm.......2007-09-10
Too much sarcasm from start to finish. It's a far-left view of the Bush administration where author Frank Rich seems to be visibly upset at any Republican administration. He uses references to Jon Stewart's, The Daily Show along with Saturday Night Live numerous times to back his opinions on current political events. In my view, an author of his age background and experience should not have written this farcical, liberal montage of jabs at the office of the President of the United States. Better luck next time Frank.
BRAVO!! Succinct yet complete, and thoroughly absorbing........2007-08-23
By his piece-by-piece dismantling of the façade that is the Bush administration, Rich offers the most plausible and perhaps definitive explanation of Bush-Cheney-Rove & Co.'s rush to war, leaving an unparalleled trail of destruction - Manhattan, New Orleans, Iraq, our constitution and civil liberties, our treasury, our international prestige, and perhaps our way of life - so massive in scope we may never recover from the hubris, deception, cynicism, incompetence, and lawlessness wrought by this gang of crooks.
Approximately since LBJ, television has had the effect of focusing then magnifying the character flaws of our presidents, until, appropriately, professional actor Reagan came along and made the camera work for him. With personal guru Rove behind the curtain directing Bush's every move, word, and decision, W. shamelessly honed this skill to big-brother perfection, until the façade could no longer outpace the complete lack of substance - character, wisdom, intellect, ability - beneath. The consequences of Bush being so exceptionally unqualified for the ultimate responsibility he so unlikely attained became too much for even the Wizard to keep up the ruse. And it all came crashing down.
Rich also pays attention to the cultural context - our infinite indulgence for infotainment, the Enron values - that allowed these charlatans to lead us not just into temptation (endless wars, tax cuts and debt that will break us) but infernal damnation.
There's a case for impeachment and conviction on nearly every page. We can sit it out and pray that W. doesn't wreak more devastation before it's all over, or we can impeach him and Cheney now. That's assuming we can evict them both without them taking us down with them. More than Nixon and all the crooks before or since, these guys belong in prison.
Kudos to Rich for a thorough chronicle of our national nightmare since September 2001. Read it and weep for our country and all we've lost.
Hubris Without Limits.......2007-07-22
There can be little doubt that George W Bush is a lightweight. I can say this from a distance as I am not an American but simply an observer of events. It is a great shame that so many people judge America by his actions. This is most unfair. America is so much more than this simpleton.
I read "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" with keen expectations of gaining some insight to the machinations of American political life. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case. This book is very superficial. Even with the benefit of hindsight where we can see events with greater clarity than when they are actually unfolding, Frank Rich sheds little light on matters. This is unfortunate. He was working with such potentially great material.
We all know what a monumental error it was for Bush to land on an aircraft carrier with a "Mission Accomplished" sign in the background. This was hubris of immense proportions. A wiser head would never have been involved in such stupidity. I'm certain earlier presidents would have at least thought twice before going ahead. But not this man. His naivety is without bounds.
Where to now? Iraq seems like a giant vortex. Civil war has been unleashed and outsiders seem to hold no sway. Perhaps it is best to just stand back and let time determine an outcome.
Overall, Frank Rich's book has value only in so far as we are reminded of Bush's mendacity. But do we really need reminding? How could we forget?
Best Yet on Iraq and Bush.......2007-07-14
I've read one book after another in my effort to understand how America has gone so wrong so fast. This is the best, right up there with Fiasco and One Percent Doctrine. I look forward to Rich's next foray of book length and hope he will attack the most important and as yet unanswered question of this era --- in the face of a cheerleading national press corps, how did the American people nevertheless reject this war and its leaders even before Katrina,etc. had disclosed their utter incompetence, stupidity, and disdain for us all.....in the answer to this question lies the future of all that is decent in our nation.....
A Soldier is Surprised When He Wakes Up One Morning.......2007-06-20
Imagine if you were one of several soldiers wounded in the Iraqi war who woke up one morning to find that there was a letter to the editor in your newspaper that supported the war and had your signature on it, but you didn't write that letter, and knew nothing about it.. The letter was written by the PR team in your federal government. Or picture this: President Bush is standing at night in the now brilliantly lit Jackson square in New Orleans talking optimistically about the city. Well at least the square seems lit up nicely so we guess the electricity is back on. The speech ends, the flood lights go off, and the square is plunged into total darkness.
This is a book detailing how the government lied and created propaganda to further their cause in both the war, and in the aftermath of Katrina. It's a fascinating book because it follows a time line that shows clearly how the public comments made by public officials changed over time. In fact there is a 78 page time line appendix in the book that details these morphing statements date by date. The book tells about the fake reporters at press conferences, the fake news columnists, and the fake "news" articles that the government distributed to gullible media. As one government person stated, "we create our own reality." When Specialist Wilson asked Rumsfeld why he and his men didn't have adequate armor Rumsfeld said it was a matter of production and capability. That was a lie that was outed quickly when it was revealed that one supplier, ArmorWorks said it could quickly increase production by 100%. During the battle in Falluja we were told that there were 3000 Iraqi soldiers fighting the battle. Reporters on the scene said that the Iraqi soldiers showed up after the fighting was over, posed in their neat, clean uniforms and departed. Certainly you remember the frequent comments about the thousands of Iraqis that have been trained or are almost completely trained. Somehow they never seem to materialize.
You've probably heard a lot of this stuff, but Mr. Rich brings out the deceit of all the Washington shapeshifters in wonderful - or perhaps the word should be horrible - detail. You see the action flow, and learn about a lot of governmental skullduggery that will make you cringe. It's spellbinding reading.
Book Description
Nancy Snow, a former USIA employee, examines how American propaganda efforts and covert operations are expanding more rapidly today than at any time in U.S. history, as the Bush administration attempts to increase U.S. dominance by curbing dissent and controlling opinion.
Customer Reviews:
A collection of leftist cliches. Thank God I bought this used........2007-08-31
What a piece of work Ms. Snow is. On one one hand, she trumpets Freedom of the Press as part of her "favorite psalm (page 12)," and on the other harkens the deregulation of the media that took place in 2003 (page 15) as some sort of plot to institute mind control. Does it take a mere three pages for liberal doublethink to occur? For Ms. Snow, apparently it does.
Snow attempts to wax eloquently about a post-911 antiwar speech given by Howard Zinn (whom she calls a "rock star" and whom I call "a Marxist who never met a communist dictatorship he didn't like") and then goes on with some drivel about "street-taking protests." All this before she even begins to address propaganda, which is the stated purpose of the book.
As far as I can tell (what with Snow's muddled thinking and admiration for French marxists) China, the former USSR and the United States were all big propaganda blocs prior to our victory over Communism. Now that the USSR is gone (and I'm sure leftists like Snow are still mourning the fall of the Wall) the U.S. and China are the only propagandists on the bloc... and she's not sure about China. Apparently because the mass media actually on occasion repeats the President's statements in a non-critical way and fails to be hypercritical at every turn (which I would argue is no longer the case at the moment) then it must be considered to be the same as a state-run media. the fact that the media is not daily screaming at the top of its lungs that we are involved in an unjust war and we should pull out now, today even, bothers Snow quite a bit. She wants the media to put out HER brand of propaganda!
Disagreeing with the Left, by the way, is interfering with the free speech rights. I get that all the time. Dissent is only good when leftists are the dissenters. She particularly took to task the freedom to call someone a "traitor" who is, in fact, working against the interests on the United States of America.
Aside from this rather poor reasoning Snow's twist on the nature of the 911 attackers is rather sickening, as is any attempted justification of those infamous mass murderers. I no more care about their warped view of the world than I do Mengele's, Himmler's, Stalin's or Idi Amin's.
If you want to see how convoluted post-Cold War and post-911 marxist thinking can be, then knock yourself out. Buy this book.
"Information War" illuminates failure within the system.......2005-02-04
"Information War" illuminates the Bush administration's control of information in the post-9/11 era. Though it has been over three years since that event, the propaganda machine is still in full swing. Snow highlights the attack on people's intelligence via scare tactics, the vilification of anyone who disagrees with Bush policies, and the unqualified folks put in charge of selling America and its policies to the world.
There is also a history of propaganda to show how a pacifist United States was drummed into a warmongering and blood-thirsty country during World War I. In other words, what Bush and his cronies do isn't new, it's part of a grand American tradition. Empires need propaganda to keep free thought at bay. Just look at Nazi Germany. Snow does.
The comparison is frightening. So, what do we do when the ad manager for Uncle Ben's rice tries to sell America to Arab countries? And what do we do when even the mainstream media is pressured to censor itself? We cannot trust the mainstream anymore (if we ever could), especially when it is so conservatively skewed. Nancy Snow provides the clarion call for all with a mind to speak up.
At this time, perhaps more than ever since this is a nuclear age, it is important to have research out there that tells it like it is about the policies of this country. Information control is not a good thing, especially for the so-called leader of the free world. The truth must be hard to take, but considering the non-stop lies of the Bush administration, Snow knows it will be difficult to understand. Give "Information War" a spin with an open mind, and find yourself edified.
Then take some action.
Self-Referential work.......2004-12-23
Ms Snow quotes J Goebbels to the effect that the intellectual content of propaganda need not be high, then continues to demonstrate the same concerning books about propaganda. Her opus
is a sketchy collection of ultra-left agitprop, and is published by the same people who bring us N. Chomsky and Angela Davis. I give
two stars since the book has merit as an object for study. The
editing of the book is amateurish, with misspellings, mispunctuations and contains the very odd word "lookyloo".
A caustic, keen-eyed, and highly recommended "must-read".......2004-08-10
Information War: American Propaganda, Free Speech, And Opinion Control Since 9-11 is a candid and disturbing look at how government and media have used spin control and propaganda to shape popular opinion and guide the nation toward a specific political agenda regardless of dissent since the September 11th attacks. Identifying common propaganda techniques such as card-stacking (selectively quoting facts in order to build a case against an opponent that ignores the whole truth of situations the facts refer to), labelling, bandwagon appeal (building support for an idea by perpetuating the sentiment that "everybody" is in favor of it) and much more, it goes on to spot these techniques used in recent quotes from individuals and spokespeople in the turbulent and often militaristic speeches since the attacks. A caustic, keen-eyed, and highly recommended "must-read" for anyone seeking to understand what is really going on underneath recent American rhetoric.
Uneven work shows the propaganda machine at work.......2004-08-02
A VERY short, extremely partisan and ultimately focusless collection of essays by a veteran of the United States Information Agency, the propaganda arm of the government during the Cold War. The USIA is now defunct, subsumed into other departments during the federal restructuring that saw the birth of the Dept. of Homeland Security. Snow is strongest when she is explaining the role and history of propaganda in international affairs. There is also a moving portrait of Rep. Barbara Lee, the sole Representative to try to hold onto Congressional control of War Powers after the Sept. 11 attacks. Congressional War Powers have been a joke since before I was born, but it's nice to see one person stand up for them. There are many other issues addressed here, but it's like a bag of potato chips; three days later, you don't remember them.
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Linguistics of Political Argument: The Spin-Doctor and the Wolf-Pack at the White House (Routledge Studies in Corpus Linguistics)
Alan Partington
Manufacturer: Routledge
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ASIN: 0415287138 |
Book Description
This book examines the relationship between the White House, in the person of its press secretary, and the press corps through a linguistic analysis of the language used by both sides. A corpus was compiled of around fifty press briefings from the late Clinton years. A wide range of topics are discussed from the Kosovo crisis to the Clinton-Lewinsky affair. br This work is highly original in demonstrating how concordance technology and the detailed linguistic evidence available in corpora can be used to study discourse features of text and the communicative strategies of speakers. It will be of vital interest to all linguists interested in corpus-based linguistics and pragmatics, as well as sociolinguists and students and scholars of communications, politics and the media.
Amazon.com
Michael Lewis, the author of Liar's Poker, which Tom Wolfe called "the funniest book on Wall Street I have ever read," now turns his eye to the peculiar method Americans use to choose their president. Beginning with the 1996 New Hampshire primary, Lewis tagged along with players both major and minor. Keeping his eyes open to the nuances of how campaigns are so carefully managed today, Lewis is able to make some insightful, damning, and often hysterically funny observations. The reporting technique is eccentric--who else would spend so much time with Morry Taylor, a rich man who ran for president in what amounted to a vanity campaign--but it works. Lewis has written a very good book that could be shelved under both humor and public affairs.
Book Description
A wickedly funny and astute chronicle of the 1996 presidential campaign--and how we go about choosing our leaders at the turn of the century. In it Michael Lewis brings to the political scene the same brilliance that distinguished his celebrated best-seller about the financial world, Liar's Poker.
Beginning with the primaries, Lewis traveled across America--a concerned citizen who happened to ride in candidates' airplanes (as well as rented cars in blinding New Hampshire blizzards) and write about their adventures. Among the contenders he observed: Pat Buchanan, a walking tour of American anger; Lamar Alexander, who appealed to people who pretend to be nice to get ahead; Steve Forbes, frozen in a smile and refusing to answer questions about his father's motorcycles; Alan Keyes, one of the great political speakers of our age, whom no one has ever heard of; Morry Taylor--"the Grizz"--the hugely successful businessman who became the refreshing embodiment of ordinary Americans' appetites and ambitions; Bob Dole, a man who set out to prove he would never be president; and Bill Clinton, the big snow goose who flew too high to be shot out of the sky.
We watch the clichés of this peculiar subculture collide with characters from the real world: a pig farmer in Iowa; an evangelical preacher in Colorado Springs; a homeless person in Manhattan; a prospective illegal immigrant in Mexico. The politicians speak and speak, often reversing positions, denying direct quotations, mastering the sound bite, dodging hard questions, wreaking havoc on the English language. Spin doctors spin. Rented strangers (campaign workers) proliferate. One particular toe sucker goes awry. Ads are honed to misrepresent and distort. Money makes the world go round.
And the citizens are left dumbfounded or cheering empty platitudes. When trail fever breaks on Election Day, half of America's eligible voters stay home.
This book offers a striking look at us and our politics and the mammoth unlikelihood of connection between the inauthentic modern candidate and the voter's passions, needs, and desires. In telling the story, Michael Lewis once again proves himself a masterful observer of the American scene.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent, even at ten years old.......2007-05-16
My copy is titled "Trail Fever", but it's the same book. I picked it up in the library lobby self-service carousel for a buck, mainly because I recognize Mr. Lewis as the author of MoneyBall. Boy am I glad I did - provided you're old enough to recall the 1996 presidential campain, this is a great read, telling you everything that newspaper editors refuse to. He could write about paint and make it fascinating, sort of like a witty John McPhee. I've polished it off over a number of evenings and it's been eagerly turned to. Of course, now that I'm done it's going back to the carousel.
Different and Entertaining.......2005-08-26
Entertaining book following the Republican Primaries of 1996. You learn a lot about the candidates that you may have never known, and even more so about the candidates you never even knew. There is a lot of focus on Morey Taylor. For some reason, I never remembered him, but liked a lot about him after reading this book. Good entertaining read. Primarily for political junkies.
Delightful.......2005-07-25
In Losers, Michael Lewis gives the reader a fun ride on the campaign planes and busses of the also ran candidates in 1996.
He provides insights and humor about those candidates and the political system we use in our fair land to elect our presidents.
Whether your political preferences tilt to the Left or the Right, you'll learn from and enjoy this book. You'll laugh out loud a few times, too.
I am a Yellow Dog Democrat and finished the book with a real appreciation of one of Lewis' heroes, John McCain. Oh, that McCain had prevailed in 2000 instead of the person who did.
Morry Taylor for President!!.......2004-04-15
This is a pretty typical Michael Lewis read: exceptionally descriptive, hilarious and insightful. He does great work seeing the various campaigns for what they are; and is able to stay objective throughout the experience, though obviously he forms a special connection to Morry Taylor.
This is an entertaining book from a skilled writer.
Could Not Stop Laughing.......2003-01-02
I have read the authors other two books and found them average at best. I tried this book because of the good customer reviews here and that it was very inexpensive used. What a side splitting, could not put down book this turned out to be. His wit hit high form with this book, I really fell in love with his descriptions of the race and candidates. Funny and smart comments kept coming at the reader almost if a comedy team were working on the book instead of one writer. OK the book is not the dry step by step look at the campaign that you would get with some other authors but that is part of the fun. If you read this book with say The Choice by Woodward, you get a great look at the election process and the probably would gain a better understanding of American politics.
My only gripe would be that he did not spend as much time on the Democrats as he did on the Republicans, but I understand that the Republicans really had the race and the characters for the book. I guess I just wanted more being the greedy person I am. This was a funny book and just keeps moving the whole time you are reading it. A great lighter book to read if you are interested in politics.
Book Description
Canadians visit chiropractors about thirty million times a year, and surveys show that patients are generally satisfied with their treatment. But studies also show that as many as two hundred Canadians a year suffer strokes brought on by neck manipulation. Spin Doctors takes a hard, dramatic, and spinechilling look into the world of chiropractic medicine. You will be surprised to learn what chiropractors treat and why and how much it costs you as a taxpayer. Most importantly, you'll learn how to protect yourself and your family from dangerous adjustments, practicebuilding tactics, bogus treatments, and misleading information.
Customer Reviews:
Chiropractic Quackery.......2007-03-13
Finally, an easy to read expose of this nonsensicle "science". If it wasn't that people continue to fall for this nonsense, it would almost be funny. Chiropractis is almost as stupid as scientology, and likely to drain the bank account just as fast. How in this day and age, people could believe the science fiction of this so called medical therapy is beyone belief. Remember, the guy that dreamed up this nonsnse was an uneducated buffoon.
Typical old-school bias against chiropractic.......2004-12-13
I couldn't help but peruse this thing. It's chapter after chapter of out-of date claims by those who simply can't accept the fact that chiropractic is here to stay and that a growing body of research supports more and more of what they do.
Usual junk. Don't buy this book unless you're part of a campaign to spread ignorance and lies about something that the author clearly has a political agenda about.
don't support this garbage.......2004-09-30
This is the type of medical attack, that has tried to denigrate Chiropractic for over 100 years. If you hold the medical profession to the same candle, you will ignite a flame for thousands of years. I am more than a little tired of quasi- scientists trying to make a buck off of a professional.
A Must Read for Anyone in the Medical and Policy Making Comm.......2004-07-01
Wow, this was an excellent read that really uncovered the mystery (and mysticism) around this business. I am amazed that more folks have not caught on to the lack of clear evidence on the benefit of this treatment practice, not to mention the potential harm! I laughed out loud at one of the reviews given that hated the book as I suspect this person is in the "business" and practicing the time honored defense of their "treatments"! Thanks to the authors for writing this much needed book!
Learning the truth about Chiropractic.......2004-05-24
This book is beneficial and is as balanced as truth can be about chiropractic. Very little objective information is available on chiropractic. I am a doctor and truthfully feel we would all be better off without wasting government money on the minimally helpful practice.
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Dog Train CD: And 16 Other Improbable Songs
Sandra Boynton , and
Michael Ford
Manufacturer: Workman Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
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Rhinoceros Tap: 15 Seriously Silly Songs (Book & CD)
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Philadelphia Chickens
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Dog Train: A Wild Ride on the Rock-and-Roll Side (Book & CD)
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Rhinoceros Tap
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Philadelphia Chickens
ASIN: 0761144471
Release Date: 2006-08-10 |
Product Description
Who let the dog out? Out of its book, that is. Announcing the CD-only DOG TRAIN - the funky, fabulous collection of all-out rock music by the team that created the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Philadelphia Chickens. Take directly from Dog Train, the book and CD with 588,000 copies in print, it's the same great music, now in the brilliant format music-lovers love - the handy little jewel case.
Customer Reviews:
Great Music and Book!.......2007-04-18
My 6 yr old and 4 yr old girls LOVE this CD/book combination. The music is fun, the book is colorful. As an adult, this is the best kids music I've heard. Often times I find myself singing the songs without the kids around.
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Spin Doctors Up For Grabs
Manufacturer: Sony Music
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0793532868 |
Product Description
Guitar - Notes and Tablature. HL00694917
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Winning Reputations: How to Be Your Own Spin Doctor
Chris Genasi
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0333963652 |
Book Description
Winning Reputations: How to Be Your Own Spin Doctor provides practical advice on how to manage your personal PR, in order to develop your career, promote your business, or cary out campaigns for change. It focuses upon reputation as the key to world-class individuals, companies, and great brands, and includes many compelling examples and cases, as well as a toolkit and a plan for building one.
Customer Reviews:
How a pack of lies and ideologues hijacked education.......2001-07-02
Bumpy at times, shrill at others, this book is nevertheless a compelling and convincing history of our very recent past. And anyone involved with or concerned about educational reform should read it, alert to the dictum that "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
Taylor documents in excruciating detail the grim story of how a dedicated group of ideologues "reformed" reading teaching in California and spread their insupportable beliefs throughout the country and (now) even into mathematics teaching. That they did so by lying may be no surprise - this is always the path of ideologues. But that they lied so baldly, that so many politicians rolled over so supinely, that so many anxious parents jumped to the raised fist of these demagogues is an eye opening story.
When Taylor and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) published this book in 1998 it was seen by many as a finger-in-the-dike against an incredible wash of success of the pro-phonics movement in turning reading education in this country on its head. Many had watched in surprise as a small handful of mere drafts of narrowly conceived research studies were fronted as proof that wholly new approaches to reading education were demanded. But the surprise turned to horror as, sometimes in mere months, this sheaf of papers pulled from a pumpkin was turning California and other legislatures toward a frenzy of legislation implanting phonics-as-policy. Turning them, even to the extent of legislatures defining what would heretofore be allowed to be called "research" in support of a reading program. Twisting, even, when the circulated draft studies were shown to be built on narrow assumptions and flawed statistics. Spinning, still, when the final, published copies were similarly flawed but suspiciously lacking some of the lies that, in draft form, had convinced legislators to leap into the parade.
While the other reading teachers association, the International Reading Association (IRA) was nervously twiddling its thumbs in committees discussing the need for balance and accommodation of all views, the NCTE, at least saw the paint splashed on the wall and commissioned this work. Within months of California and other states enacting sweeping legislation this book exposed the incredible suite of lies and manipulations underlying the successful campaign leading to that legislation.
But it is a campaign that is to this day continuing. Mouth the words "Whole Language" in public in 2001 and you will notice the knee-jerk responses quickly engulf you in a fog of disdain. Yet the `Whole Language' approach to reading instruction - an approach that included but did not offer primacy to phonics - was at the heart of a research-based model for reading instruction that was embraced by large numbers of teachers, parents and administrators as recently as five years ago. Now they mostly shake their heads and talk about "what works", pointing to California (or Texas where the flawed studies took place).
Only three years later, we now see the juggernaut of lies, emboldened, turned with the same religious zeal, against the past decades of reforms in math teaching. The now successfully tarnished "whole language" terminology is turned to denigrate these reforms as "whole math." Even some of the same reading "experts" turn up as newly-minted, and outspoken, authorities in mathematics!
This can be a tough book to stay with. It was written in the midst of a tornado that has now settled into a national storm. Some parts are polemic, some personal. But it is still critical "primary documentation" of a public policy hijacking that continues to diminish the educational opportunity of huge and growing numbers of children. If you care about and endorse progressive changes in education you should read this book and speak out. Certainly we don't want, sometime in the future, to be mouthing the phrase "first they came for the reading programs, and I was silent, then they came for..." A strong analogy, perhaps, but a generation rendered ignorant and lethargic by rote drill and meaningless schooling will certainly be one that is ripe for the plucking of the basest of ideologues.
Debunks Pseudoscience in Reading Research.......2000-12-11
Unlike Brett Reynolds (who wrote a mostly bad review of this book for Amazon), I quite like this book. If you really want to know what the political agendas are behind the reading wars, read this book. If you think that there is any solid research on "phonemic awareness", find out (1) how little of it there is and (2) how even the awful stuff is branded "science" and used to make decisions at the very top (a truth that will resound if Bush takes office as president).
More spin.......2000-10-16
The whole point of the book is that government and researchers are twisting the truth to suit their own agendas and reap large profits from authoring teaching materials. Although there are some good points in the book about poor research design, overinterpretation, misuse of statistics, and undisclosed conflicts of interest, the author is blatant in her own selective quoting and spin doctoring. She suggests that the overwhelming consensus about importance of phonemic awareness is based on a very few flawed studies that everyone cites. The fact is that there are hundreds of well designed (as well as the mediocre, and poor) studies.
The author keeps harping on Marilyn Adams and Keith Stanovich as she rails against "direct phonics only" legislation, yet both Adams and Stanovich are explicit in their support for extensive reading of trade books.
Lots of sarcasm. Lots of non sequiturs. Heaps and heaps of quoted text. And a few good points.
(P.S. I'm not an American, and don't live there, so I focused more on the research and less on the political side of the book. What the politicians are doing sounds awful.)
Taylor Reverses Pro-Phonics Spin.......1999-01-10
In Beginning to Read and the Spin Doctor's of Science, literacy researcher and author Denny Taylor examines the pro-phonics legislative campaign afoot in the US, which has the dual goals of controlling how children are taught to read in this country, as well as changing, shaping, and delimiting public and professional discourse on how children learn to read. The book explores the assumptions behind this campaign, as well as how language and policy-making are being used, and abused, by pro-phonics forces to shape perceptions of reality. The Spin Doctors of Science focuses on the players, but Taylor never lets readers forget that it is children who will suffer the consequences of this religiously, politically, and profit-motivated campaign to control how they are taught to read. Filled as it is with deconstructions of research, explanations of reading theory, and senate testimony so banal and filled with doublespeak as to have a sedative effect, The Spin Doctors of Science could have been a deadly dull book. But Taylor, in this narrative tour de force, keeps readers on the edges of their seats. The stakes are too high for her to let our attention wander. Taylor's writing "puts us there." We are in Texas, listening to Foorman, or in California, listening to Doug Carnine. And Taylor's ironic, and painfully hilarious, running commentary on these events makes readers feel as if she is sitting in the next chair, whispering like-minded asides as we writhe in silence while another "expert" stands up to disseminate lies, damn lies, and statistics. Taylor steps further into the fray by showing us the tools we must use, the literacies we must learn, if teachers and professors and parents are to learn how to stand in noticeable opposition to the spin doctors of science and their corporate-friendly sponsors. This is a brilliant book. It is too bad it had to be about a nightmare.
Average customer rating:
- wash it away
- Dull and unengaging!
- Not very engaging
- A fun and provacative read!
- fine Manhattan character driven drama
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Spin Doctor
Leslie Carroll
Manufacturer: Avon A
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Friendship
| Women's Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
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General
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
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ASIN: 0060596139
Release Date: 2006-01-24 |
Book Description
Question:
What do Amy, the new mom;
Meriel, the West-Indian housekeeper;
Claude and Naomi, the alternative couple;
Faith, the elegant widow;
and Talia, the super-skinny ballerina
have in common?
Answer:
Abso-freakin'-lutely-nothing!
Except that they all live lives of not-so-quiet desperation on the Upper West Side of New York City. What gets them through? Their unusual therapy sessions with supershrink Susan Lederer, held in the depths of the laundry room. Susan knows that all of life's problems eventually come out in the wash, but while the washers keep breaking down, she helps her female friends take control.
But Susan's life has become an agitated mess. Her teenage daughter seems destined for a fast-food future; her son's adolescence hasn't quite hit yet . . . and her perfect husband is hiding something. Susan could use a really good shrink.
Instead, her dirty linen exposed, she finds that it's her friends who rally 'round her, and by the final spin, she realizes that while it might not take a whole village, it does sometimes take a laundry room to get rid of the nastier wrinkles in life.
Now if only she could find the formula for getting rid of that ring around the collar.
Customer Reviews:
wash it away.......2006-06-13
Too many characters with too many problems. Like another reviewer mentioned, I was confused as to who had what problem because there was too much going on.
I wanted so bad to really enjoy the book but I couldn't. The premise seemed like a fun story. I was very excited to read it but then I started and it dragged. Characters weren't developed and Susan's problems with her husband seemed to be added at the last minute for character development that never happened.
Dull and unengaging!.......2006-04-14
Leslie Carroll's "Spin Doctor" revolved aroud Susan, a therapist, who gave free counselling sessions to the tenants of her apartment building. The counselling sessions were held in the laundry room of the building where Susan's "patients" were more comfortable to share their problems while at the same time, doing their laundry. Even though Susan seemed to be able to her the tenants, she was unable to solve the problems in her life. Her relationship with her husband seemed stagnant, and her daughter, Molly seemed doomed for a career at McDonald's.
I didn't enjoy this book at all as the author provided many stories which was a bit confusing as I cannot remember who has what problems. The storyline in general was weak and not very engaging. The main character, Susan, was not well-developed and the supporting characters were not very interesting either. This was a rather weak chick-lit book. Nothing worth wasting your money.
Not very engaging.......2006-03-08
I found the premise of the novel very interesting, but Carroll just tried to tell too many stories in this book. I felt like I didn't really get to know the main character, so when her life started to fall apart, I didn't really care.
A fun and provacative read!.......2006-02-18
Thanks to Ms. Carroll I've nearly missed my stop on the train twice! Her new book draws you in immediately and makes it almost impossible to put down. Witty and sweet--i really enjoyed it!
fine Manhattan character driven drama.......2006-01-28
Amy the new mother, Meriel the bored West-Indian housekeeper, Naomi part of a different lifestyle couple with Claude (though they each clean the dirty linen), Faith the new widow, Talia the injured ballerina, and Susan the therapist all live in the same Manhattan apartment house. At the laundry room Susan listens to their individual woes and offers sage advice to help each one cope with their personal crisis.
However, no one is there for Susan. She believes her once picture perfect family is near collapse. Her spouse spends way too much time in the office as if he needs to avoid her or has something better there to occupy his time; her daughter is a rebel with a fast food cause; finally her son is on the verge of puberty, but each step forward leads to two steps back as she thinks he will be eligible for Medicare by the time his body changes. Susan needs a psychiatrist, but what she has is friends willing to listen to her woes and advise her now how to clean the dirty laundry.
SPIN DOCTOR contains an intriguing premise as the audience sees the woes of the apartment six and a half (Naomi and Claude get one and a half) mostly through the eyes of Susan, the professional member of the rinse cycle club. The story line shifts focus from one of the sextet to another though Susan remains the glue that holds the plot together. Leslie Carroll deftly insure her ensemble has differing personalities and tsuras, but there are too many to keep score of and that shrinks the shrink's effectiveness. Still this is a fine Manhattan character driven drama that uses laundry vernacular to clean away one's troubles.
Harriet Klausner
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