An intriguing, if not always convincing, case against science and technology as the only keys to future progress.
Rye warns of a technology-fueled dystopian future in this work of social commentary.
One of the most distinct psychological traits possessed by humans, author Rye notes in the book’s introduction, is object permanence. This ability to know that something exists even when out of view is connected, per Rye’s analysis, to humanity’s adherence to intangible belief systems. In other words, “All our political, economic, and religious institutions are based upon ideals which can only be conceptualized in the abstract.” As belief in traditional institutions has eroded—particularly religious systems in the West—the author fears that we risk slipping into an antisocial hellscape fueled by the cold rationalism of technology. While the post-Enlightenment emphasis on science certainly brought progress in terms of income and living conditions, the book argues that “wealth and prosperity come at a high price.” Eschewing partisan shots against both the right and the left, Rye highlights, for instance, the ethical and psychological costs of oppressive communist regimes as well as capitalist economies obsessed with consumerism. “By scientific measures, we are better off,” Rye argues, but “we are not happy.” Rye, who has an advanced degree in international affairs and economics from Johns Hopkins University and has worked as the State Department’s first Advisor for Hostage Affairs, has a keen sense of psychology and human behavior. Well cited through a network of footnotes, the book is a dense read that weaves together history, philosophy, political science, and psychology, and the analysis is often astute. Still, the book occasionally leans too heavily on the abstract, claiming that although data suggests we are better off now than ever, everyone knows that “something is wrong.” Rye rejects the racism and absurdities of contemporary conspiracy theorists but often challenges scientific consensus. His discussion of the Covid-19 vaccine, for instance, avoids the label of “vaccine” (preferring instead “MRNA treatment”) and emphasizes its “untested” nature. While skeptical, the book is rarely conspiratorial and refuses to wade into unproductive culture wars.
An intriguing, if not always convincing, case against science and technology as the only keys to future progress.Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2024
ISBN: 9798991398800
Page Count: 602
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Sept. 4, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
For Howard Zinn, long-time civil rights and anti-war activist, history and ideology have a lot in common. Since he thinks that everything is in someone's interest, the historian—Zinn posits—has to figure out whose interests he or she is defining/defending/reconstructing (hence one of his previous books, The Politics of History). Zinn has no doubts about where he stands in this "people's history": "it is a history disrespectful of governments and respectful of people's movements of resistance." So what we get here, instead of the usual survey of wars, presidents, and institutions, is a survey of the usual rebellions, strikes, and protest movements. Zinn starts out by depicting the arrival of Columbus in North America from the standpoint of the Indians (which amounts to their standpoint as constructed from the observations of the Europeans); and, after easily establishing the cultural disharmony that ensued, he goes on to the importation of slaves into the colonies. Add the laborers and indentured servants that followed, plus women and later immigrants, and you have Zinn's amorphous constituency. To hear Zinn tell it, all anyone did in America at any time was to oppress or be oppressed; and so he obscures as much as his hated mainstream historical foes do—only in Zinn's case there is that absurd presumption that virtually everything that came to pass was the work of ruling-class planning: this amounts to one great indictment for conspiracy. Despite surface similarities, this is not a social history, since we get no sense of the fabric of life. Instead of negating the one-sided histories he detests, Zinn has merely reversed the image; the distortion remains.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1979
ISBN: 0061965588
Page Count: 772
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1979
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
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