A Postman book, which like many Postman books, argues that a bad thing that is happening in society is caused by the destruction of print culture. We have examples of the disappearance of childhood now that Postman would never have dreamed of. I have observed with my own eyes the sexually suggestive attire for eight year old girls in major department stores at least ten years ago and it has only gotten worse since then. Now I have the Postman explanation for all this.

Besides this, he makes an interesting distinction between "craft literacy", where the ability to read and write is restricted to a certain group with specialized reading skills, and "social literacy" where the ability to read and write is widespread in a population. He argues that social literacy, which had existed in parts of the Roman Empire, died out in those locations after the Empire's fall, and was not restored until the invention of the printing press. ( )

A compact volume that I'm reading for a research project. Every page contains information/observations that I am compelled to mark for citation later. Postman makes an interesting case for the creating of "childhood" with the advent of the printing press and its disappearance with technology and a visual culture. ( )

Neil Postman says that childhood disappeared in the dark ages because literacy, education, and shame were lost. Childhood began when one was 7 years old because all the information they had was the same as the adults had. There were no adult secrets or process of developing skills that adults needed (e.g., reading).

"Television cannot whisper." ( )

Good Heavens! It's been almost 30 years since the last edition and we have unprecedented amounts of child abuse, the graphic novel is the current thing, and the state of our education system ... varies, to say the least. Welcome to the new middle ages/dark ages/pre-enlightenment era. ( )

A compelling and convincing argument from a man whose intelligence is matched by his big-heartedness. It reads quickly but any three or four-sentence passage can provoke an hour of conversation. Highly recommended. ( )