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Public Opinion |
Author: Walter Lippmann
Published: 2008-01-08 |
List price: $9.99
Our price: $9.99
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As of: January 07th, 2009 09:19:02 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Briiliant thinker, brilliant book.
Lippman is sadly under-appreciated these days, I hadn't even heard his name until the past year, when, while working on my dissertation, I came across this book. Written in lucid, clear prose, yet dealing with incredibly complex theoretical and philosophical issues, Public Opinion argues that not only is there not really an agreed-upon "Public Opinion," but that people rarely even understand what they think they know, let alone what they can agree upon with other people. Lippman persuasively demonstrates that opinions are formed in such a way that they have little or no bearing upon "really existing" facts and truth most of the time, and instead are ill-informed, vague, and haphazard in their application of rational thought. Lippman closes by arguing that, since no one has the time or ability to be as informed as they are expected to be on every issue, what is needed is a group of intellectuals dedicated towards improving the quality of media we receive; a sort of "filter" which can correct misperceptions and inform the public at large. (Although, in his subsequent Lippman becomes even more pessimistic, arguing that there is no such thing as "the public".) This book is a must-read for those fascinated by media, politics, or even more general philosophical/culture questions.
 Great book, but terrible production
Lippmann is great, but the BN Publishing edition of this book is beyond terrible. Misplaced (or simply missing) punctuation, misspelled words, no italics or boldface where they are needed, random line breaks in the middle of sentences, no indented paragraphs, no margins on the pages, haphazard footnotes ... you get the idea.
The content is worth four or five stars for all the reasons that other reviewers have mentioned, but this printing is simply unreadable.
Bad
No information of the publisher is available. Therefore it cannot be quoted or be of any academic use.
Unreadable typesetting
Cheaply produced and bound -- and the typesetting is shockingly poor. There are no indents after paragraph breaks, italics that were in the original are missing in this shoddy edition. I have to purchase yet another copy because this fly-by-night publisher can't be bothered to typeset an out-of-copyright text properly.
 Walter Lippman's Legacy as I See It
I had the good fortune to meet Walter Lippman growing up, as my father was his children's orthodontist (overbites all). Through this, Lippman and my biological mother, the receptionist, began an affair that lasted--on and off--for several tumultuous years. While Lippman the intellectual is to be respected, I cannot recommend his book without reservation. I mention this on accout of the extent to which his shenanigans with my biological mother resulted in a great deal of cruelty and psychological trauma to her fragile working-class psyche. If Lippman were around today, I would ask him about this. As I cannot, I am simply leaving this review here so others may read the "full story." You cannot judge a book by its cover, but you can judge an author by his actions in the world.
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