Thursday, June 10, 2010

The power of television

Glenn Beck of Fox TV did an hour's programme about Hayek's The Road to Serfdom, which promptly shot up to No 1 on Amazon. Now we find that the University of Chicago Press has sold out of all its copies. Next, Mr Beck will be talking about Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Just the preview of that has pushed the book up into the top 30 on Amazon. Wouldn't it be nice if our TV presenters did something useful like that?

3 comments:

  1. Well, what books do you think our TV presenters would pick? Mein Kampf, the Communist Manifesto or maybe a collection of Gramsci's Prison Notes? It's probably better all round if they don't try.

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  2. wonderfulforhisageJune 11, 2010 at 8:20 AM

    You have to remember that Beck has an audience that in the main can read without moving their lips. I'm not so sure our comprehensively educated lot are that skilled.

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  3. I enjoyed reading "Atlas Shrugged", couldn't put it down. Like "1984" though, it is a warning not an instruction manual, will the "boy king" please note!

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