{"product_id":"the-great-brain-suck-eugene-halton-9780226314662","title":"The Great Brain Suck: And Other American Epiphanies","description":"More and more information is pumped into our media-saturated world every day, yet Americans seem to know less and less. In a society where who you are is defined by what you buy, and where we prefer to experience reality by watching it on TV, Eugene Halton argues something has clearly gone wrong.\u003cbr\u003e Luckily Halton, with scalpel-sharp wit in one hand and the balm of wisdom in the other, is here to operate on the declining body politic. His initial diagnosis is bleak: fast food and too much time spent sitting, whether in our cars or on our couches, are ruining our bodies, while our minds are weakened by the proliferation of electronic devices--TVs, computers, cell phones, iPods, video games--and their alienating effects. If we are losing the battle between autonomy and automation, he asks, how can our culture regain self-sufficiency? Halton finds the answer in the inspiring visions--deeply rooted in American culture--of an organic and more spontaneous life at the heart of the work of master craftsman Wharton Esherick, legendary blues singer Muddy Waters, urban critic Lewis Mumford, and artist Maya Lin, among others.\u003cbr\u003e A scathing and original jeremiad against modern materialism, \u003ci\u003eThe Great Brain Suck\u003c\/i\u003e is also a series of epiphanies of a simpler but more profound life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Eugene Halton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0226314669\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226314662\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/01\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.80h x 5.90w x 0.70d","brand":"Eugene Halton","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48086403088639,"sku":"9780226314662","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_45888f77-8116-4c7c-ae42-0153078a8148.jpg?v=1769094481","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-great-brain-suck-eugene-halton-9780226314662","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}