The assault on reason / Al Gore.

Originally published: New York : Penguin Press, 2007.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [277]-296) and index.

1. The politics of fear -- 2. Blinding the faithful -- 3. The politics of wealth -- 4. Convenient untruths -- 5. The assault on the individual -- 6. National insecurity -- 7. The carbon crisis -- 8. Democracy in the balance -- 9. A well-connected citizenry -- Conclusion : the rebirth of democracy.

We live in an age when the 30-second television spot is the most powerful force shaping the electorate's thinking, and America is in the hands of an administration less interested than any previous administration in sharing the truth with the citizenry. Related to this and of even greater concern is this administration's disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained, the tenets of fact-based reasoning - first among them an embrace of open inquiry, in which unexpected and even inconvenient facts can lead to unexpected conclusions." "How did we get here? And how much damage has been done to the functioning of our democracy and its role as steward of our security? Never has there been a worse time for us to lose the capacity to face the reality of our long-term challenges, from national security to the economy, from issues of health and social welfare to the environment. As The Assault on Reason shows us, we have precious little time to waste." "Al Gore's larger goal in this book is to explain how the public sphere itself has evolved into a place hospitable to reason's enemies; to make us more aware of the forces at work on our own minds; and to lead us to an understanding of what we can do, individually and collectively, to restore the rule of reason and safeguard our future. Drawing on a life's work in politics as well as on the work of experts across a broad range of disciplines, A1 Gore has written a farsighted and powerful manifesto for clear thinking.