-Caveat Lector- from; http://shopaol.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=4B62UYLYW3 &mscssid=QDDM4N7NHXSH2GB100AKH16N84T06JBC&srefer=&isbn=155927560X Click Here: <A HREF="http://shopaol.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=4B62 UYLYW3&mscssid=QDDM4N7NHXSH2GB100AKH16N84T06JBC&srefer=&isbn=155927560X">bn.co m - Coercion: Why We Listen to What "They"�</A> ----- Coercion: Why We Listen to What "They" Say (2 Cassettes) Douglas Rushkoff Read by William David Griffith bn.com Price: $14.36 Retail Price: $17.95 You Save: $3.59 (20%) In-Stock: Ships within 24 hours Format: Audio, 1st ed. ISBN: 155927560X Publisher: St. Martin's Press, Inc. Pub. Date: August 1999 Edition Desc: ABRIDGED Buy it now! Add this item to your shopping cart. You can always remove it later. Safe Shopping Guarantee! Write your own Review ABOUT THE BOOK >From The Publisher An investigation into the influence techniques of the hidden persuaders--in the media, in politics, and in business--who are every day making more and more of our decisions for us, from a writer hailed as the "brilliant heir to Marshall McLuhan" by New Perspectives Quarterly. They say that human beings use only ten percent of their brains. They say the corner office is a position of power. They say you haven''t met your deductible. Who, exactly, are "they"? More important, why do we listen to them? In Coercion Douglas Rushkoff argues that we each have our own "theys"--bosses, experts, and authorities (both real and imaginary) who have taken over much of the decision-making power in our lives. Unfortunately, not everyone to whom we surrender this control has our best interests at heart. What''s most troubling is that the more we try to resist their efforts at persuasion, the more effort they in turn put into finding increasingly sophisticated--and invisible--methods of coercion. Indeed, the last fifty years have been marked by a kind of arms race between these authorities and our selves. Douglas Rushkoff is in a unique position to guide us through these hazardous societal influences. Having for years been the champion of the new media, the Internet, and the liberating forces of interactive technology, he now examines the process through which such innovations are being co-opted by the powers that be. Rushkoff''s message is a wake-up call for anyone who has the uncomfortable sense that our actions are being shaped by forces beyond our control. Reviews >From Trudi Miller Rosenblum - Billboard In this intriguing audio, Rushkoff explains the carefully researched marketing strategies used by advertisers and store designers to persuade consumers to buy. He explores in detail how salesmen's pitches, TV commercials, and store layouts are carefully designed to work on consumers' subconscious minds. It's an eye opening and fascinating listen. Narrator William David Griffith speaks with the ease and confidence of the author, and his pleasant, authoritative voice is well-matched to the material. >From Kirkus Populist chronicler of cyberculture Rushkoff (Cyberia, 1994, etc.) moves here from his usual optimistic futurism to a somber depiction of a modern society in which everything is a commodity and the only interaction among humans is commerce. In the past, Rushkoff has been a cheerleader for the liberating potentialities of the Internet and other interactive technology. He now has second thoughts as he takes the reader on a tour of the various means used to coerce us into buying or simply doing what we might otherwise reject. His basic premise is that professional persuaders in myriad ways attempt to manipulate to their advantage our basic emotional needs for trust, support, and empathy. Automobile salesmen concoct elaborate ballets of manipulation to control our purchasing decisions, while on the reverse side, the ``soft sell'''' of car advertising is simply more subtle manipulation, this time of our distrust of the hard sell. Superstores, through a bewildering onslaught of sight and sound, break down our defenses and rebuild our desires so that we will buy their products. The very architecture of stores, of malls, the careful construction of sound and even smell�all are designed to break down our will and get us to buy. Yet such coercion is not restricted to the usual world of commerce. Social movements such as the ``Promise Keepers'''' do demographic research on the psychological needs of prospective members and structure rallies accordingly. Even Wall Street and the stock market, claims Rushkoff, are giant shell games of manipulation and control. Finally, the Internet itself has been transformed from a relatively simple technology for communication into a selling medium worth billions. We are alternately ``taught'''' to fear the Internet for its supposed complexity and danger (i.e., pornography) and to worship it for its ability to sell us things. Some of what Rushkoff contends may be wildly speculative and overly alarmist, but on the whole he offers a convincing view of the constructed and controlled world in which we live. . ---- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! 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