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Summary: Important Information and a Caution
Review: For everybody who currently reads a newspaper or newsmagazine, or watches television "news" or surfs the web in an ever more difficult effort to find the truth, this book is a must-read. It is unfortunate that most Americans will think these stories are too far-out. The truth is farther out than any of them realize. My hair stood on end while reading some of these tales, and I thought I was a hardened cynic. It just goes to show.....
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Summary: 4 out of 5
Review: For the most part, I agree with the other reviewers, it certainly is an eye opening book. However, roughly 25% of the book does not flow with the theme of the book, especially Chapter 12 by Karl Idsvoog. This belonged in a Marketing 101 text, not here.Interesting about the TWA flight and Sept. 11 info that was available in the UK but of course, not here. Check it out, it's a good read.
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Summary: Missing Stories
Review: For the stories it covers the book is good and somewhat depressing. However, what I noticed was the lack of stories on organizations dear to the heart of liberals. There are more than enough stories that could be done on the UN and other NGO's as an example. So while the book tells us about stories that were squashed or limited it negleted to even mention the range of stories that are (apparantly) never considered by the media because of their view of the world. When, in the '70's, a film critic at the NY Times commented that she couldn't understand how Nixon won when no one she knew voted for him it told more about the NY Times that about Nixon.
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Summary: should be on library and bookstore shelves, but isn't
Review: great book for all the reasons already mentioned, plus:
I was in New York City to get a copy of this book for a gift. Went to the huge Barnes and Noble. They didn't have it nor did they have it in any of their New York stores. Tried the famous Strand bookstore with its gigantic selection ("8 miles of books"). The customer service girl said, "Oh, I totally read that book!" but it didn't appear on their list either. Buy it here and find out why it's had no promotion and is missing from the shelves.
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Summary: Will never view news the same way ever again.
Review: Great read, but it infuriates me to hear the stories. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Real American Heroes
Review: Here are the stories of real American heroes - people who put everything on the line to get the truth out. We have cheapened our heroes to include people who just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Read about some people who sacrificed everything for the truth. They are real heroes!
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Summary: A must-read for anyone who believes the "news" is the truth
Review: I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Nearly every chapter is written by a journalist who had dug deeply into a story that posed a threat to the government and/or the media establishment, and they relate in chilling detail how their efforts to bring their stories into the light of day were suppressed. In large measure, these are chronicles of disillusionment and betrayal: many of the writers talk about how they went in with high ideals, believed their editors would back them up, etc. They found out otherwise. The book's subtitle is completely accurate: our so-called free press is a myth. (And anybody who still believes that nonsense about the "liberal media" should read this book cover-to-cover.) Every chapter is a case study, but a common thread runs through them all: namely, just how immensely difficult -- even career-threatening -- it is for a journalist to try and get something into print when it conflicts with the "official" or "accepted" version of events. What the book so vividly demonstrates is exactly how the "news" is manipulated by those in power -- from editors and publishers desperate to avoid anything that casts a shadow of doubt on their parent corporations, to government officials who simply lie through their teeth, to the great majority of journalists themselves. Regarding the latter, the book makes it abundantly clear that most are merely "reporters" in the literal sense of that term: they simply "report" what they are told by their "sources" as gospel truth, even though the latter are often government officials who are just spreading the official line. Although the total effect of the book is certainly depressing on one level, I should also note that the book is really excellent reading. Although this is a risky metaphor, given the subject, the effect is something like a whole collection of "60 Minutes" exposes between hard covers. The difference here is that it's the media itself, and those who feed it lies and disinformation, that are being exposed. What also makes this book so valuable is that most of the essays were written post-9/11 -- so not only do they take into account the aftermath of that terrible event, but also remind us how now, more than ever, it's important to be skeptical of what our leaders are telling us.
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Summary: Truth or dare
Review: I had the good fortune of hearing an interview with the author on NY public radio station WBAI this morning, so it was very interesting to log onto this site to see that the reviews given by Publishers Weekly and Booklist were blocked out. The story is that a mainstream press book critic lambasted this book but the critique's publisher was later forced to retract it because it was full of inaccuracies -- that is, what he was saying to justify his stance on the book was factually untrue.... 1984 has come and gone, but the Orwellian nightmare is alive and well in America.
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Summary: A Free Press?
Review: I highly recommend this book to both those who read the news and to those who report it. As an already extreme skeptic of American news sources, I thought this book would be more entertaining and not so much informative for me. It is actually more informative and shocking than I ever expected. This book not only provides information you may never have heard before about some high profile news stories, it tells how this information was obtained and the price journalists paid to report it, or try to report it. It has varied views from varied journalists regarding their take on the American media today. Its an easy book to read, as you can't stop turning the pages, but the stories it tells are not pleasant. As you read this book, you discover that too many media companies use news as a tool to earn higher advertising revenues and manipulate the public, not inform. Our right to a free press is in jeopardy, except for a few courageous, die-hard journalists. After reading it, you wonder how this book ever got published.
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Summary: Journalism at its best.
Review: If you fly more than 1 flag on the back of your truck or car, you may want to pass on this one. The revelation that our press is anything but "free" can be a shock to the system. If you question whether press related conspiracies really do exist in this country, please read this book. I'm not sure if the truth will set you free, but it made me feel a little less blissful. In an interview given at the end of 2002, Ms. Borjesson talks about how a good number of journalists didn't make their contribution to this book out of fear of loosing their jobs. Where are we as a country, when journalists are afraid of loosing their jobs because they print something they know to be true? How many more of these stories are out there? Patriotism comes in many forms. Some follow leaders blindly. Some exercise their right to protest. Some write about the truth even when the cost can be very high for doing so. These journalists have guts, and are true patriots. A must read for all seekers of truth.
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