Susan Jacoby is an independent scholar and bestselling author whose work offers incisive commentary on American culture and society. She critically examines intellectual and moral decline, exploring the simplification of public discourse and its impact on our understanding of the world. Jacoby's writing provides a sharp perspective on contemporary challenges, prompting readers toward deeper reflection. Her essays are known for their intellectual rigor and accessible prose.
Focusing on the interplay between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, this historical work by Susan Jacoby explores the social and economic forces influencing faith and conversion throughout Western history. It highlights significant events such as the rise of Christianity, the Spanish Inquisition, and the impact of individual converts, including Augustine and Muhammad Ali. Jacoby argues that the struggle for reason is deeply tied to the freedom to choose one's belief or to reject belief entirely, underscoring the profound effects of faith on society.
A biography that restores America's foremost nineteenth-century champion of
reason and secularism to our still contested twenty-first-century public
square
NATIONAL BESTSELLER The prescient and now-classic analysis of the forces of anti-intellectualism in contemporary American life--updated for the era of Trump, Twitter, Breitbart and fake news controversies. The searing cultural history of the last half-century, The Age of American Unreason In A Culture of Lies focuses on the convergence of social forces--usually treated as separate entities--that has created a perfect storm of anti-rationalism. These include the upsurge of religious fundamentalism, with more political power today than ever before; the failure of public education to create an informed citizenry; the triumph of internet over print culture; and America's toxic addition to infotainment. Combining historical analysis with contemporary observation and sparing neither the right nor the left, Susan Jacoby asserts that Americans today have embraced "junk thought" that makes almost no effort to separate fact from opinion. At today's critical political juncture, nothing could be more important than recognizing the crisis described in this impassioned, tough-minded book, which challenges Americans to face the painful truth about what the flights from reason has cost us as individuals and as a nation.
A best-selling author and passionate baseball fan takes a tough-minded look at
America's most traditional game in our twenty-first-century culture of digital
distraction
Jacoby challenges the prevalent myth surrounding aging, particularly for the baby boom generation, emphasizing the need for a realistic perspective on growing older. She argues against the notion of a transformative new old age, urging readers to confront the realities of aging with honesty and courage. Through her compelling narrative, she seeks to awaken Americans to the importance of understanding and preparing for the complexities of later life.
