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This book presents a critical examination of contemporary American culture, arguing that a growing “post‑literate” society increasingly values spectacle, entertainment, and illusion over truth, literacy, and substantive discourse. Hedges uses examples from professional wrestling, pornography, reality television, positive‑psychology seminars and media sensationalism to show how mass media and consumer culture undermine critical thinking, deepen social alienation, and erode democratic engagement — warning that this cultural shift threatens the social fabric and civic integrity of the nation.

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245: $a: Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
245: $b:
082: $a:
100: $a: Chris Hedges
650: $a: Sociology
250: $a:
440: $v:
250: $b: Nation Books
250: $c: 2009
020: $a: 978‑1568584379
300: $a: 232