Bright-sided: how the relentless promotion of positive thinking has undermined America
(eAudiobook)
A sharp-witted knockdown of America's love affair with positive thinking and an urgent call for a new commitment to realism. Americans are a "positive" people-cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: this is our reputation as well as our self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive, we are told, is the key to success and prosperity. In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God wants to "prosper" you. The medical profession prescribes positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for new departments of "positive psychology" and the "science of happiness." Nowhere, though, has bright-siding taken firmer root than within the business community, where, as Ehrenreich shows, the refusal even to consider negative outcomes-like mortgage defaults-contributed directly to the current economic crisis. With the mythbusting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich exposes the downside of America's penchant for positive thinking: On a personal level, it leads to self-blame and a morbid preoccupation with stamping out "negative" thoughts. On a national level, it's brought us an era of irrational optimism resulting in disaster. This is Ehrenreich at her provocative best-poking holes in conventional wisdom and faux science, and ending with a call for existential clarity and courage.
Ehrenreich, B., & Reading, K. (2009). Bright-sided: how the relentless promotion of positive thinking has undermined America. Unabridged. [United States], Macmillan Audio.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Ehrenreich, Barbara and Kate, Reading. 2009. Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. [United States], Macmillan Audio.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Ehrenreich, Barbara and Kate, Reading, Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. [United States], Macmillan Audio, 2009.
MLA Citation (style guide)Ehrenreich, Barbara, and Kate Reading. Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. Unabridged. [United States], Macmillan Audio, 2009.
Hoopla Extract Information
hooplaId | 11822982 |
---|---|
title | Bright-sided |
kind | AUDIOBOOK |
price | 2.99 |
active | 1 |
pa | 0 |
profanity | 0 |
children | 0 |
demo | 0 |
rating | |
abridged | 0 |
dateLastUpdated |
Record Information
Last File Modification Time | Jan 04, 2024 04:02:32 PM |
---|---|
Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Apr 24, 2024 12:42:06 AM |
MARC Record
LEADER | 03450nim a22004695a 4500 | ||
---|---|---|---|
001 | MWT11822982 | ||
003 | MWT | ||
005 | 20231027021858.0 | ||
006 | m o h | ||
007 | sz zunnnnnuned | ||
007 | cr nnannnuuuua | ||
008 | 231027o2009 xxunnn eo z n eng d | ||
020 | |a 9781427208378|q (sound recording : hoopla Audio Book) | ||
020 | |a 1427208379|q (sound recording : hoopla Audio Book) | ||
028 | 4 | 2 | |a MWT11822982 |
029 | |a https://d2snwnmzyr8jue.cloudfront.net/mcm_9781427208378_180.jpeg | ||
037 | |a 11822982|b Midwest Tape, LLC|n http://www.midwesttapes.com | ||
040 | |a Midwest|e rda | ||
099 | |a eAudiobook hoopla | ||
100 | 1 | |a Ehrenreich, Barbara,|e author. | |
245 | 1 | 0 | |a Bright-sided :|b how the relentless promotion of positive thinking has undermined America|h [electronic resource] /|c Barbara Ehrenreich. |
250 | |a Unabridged. | ||
264 | 1 | |a [United States] :|b Macmillan Audio,|c 2009. | |
264 | 2 | |b Made available through hoopla | |
300 | |a 1 online resource (1 audio file (7hr., 28 min.)) :|b digital. | ||
336 | |a spoken word|b spw|2 rdacontent | ||
337 | |a computer|b c|2 rdamedia | ||
338 | |a online resource|b cr|2 rdacarrier | ||
344 | |a digital|h digital recording|2 rda | ||
347 | |a data file|2 rda | ||
506 | |a Instant title available through hoopla. | ||
511 | 1 | |a Read by Kate Reading. | |
520 | |a A sharp-witted knockdown of America's love affair with positive thinking and an urgent call for a new commitment to realism. Americans are a "positive" people-cheerful, optimistic, and upbeat: this is our reputation as well as our self-image. But more than a temperament, being positive, we are told, is the key to success and prosperity. In this utterly original take on the American frame of mind, Barbara Ehrenreich traces the strange career of our sunny outlook from its origins as a marginal nineteenth-century healing technique to its enshrinement as a dominant, almost mandatory, cultural attitude. Evangelical mega-churches preach the good news that you only have to want something to get it, because God wants to "prosper" you. The medical profession prescribes positive thinking for its presumed health benefits. Academia has made room for new departments of "positive psychology" and the "science of happiness." Nowhere, though, has bright-siding taken firmer root than within the business community, where, as Ehrenreich shows, the refusal even to consider negative outcomes-like mortgage defaults-contributed directly to the current economic crisis. With the mythbusting powers for which she is acclaimed, Ehrenreich exposes the downside of America's penchant for positive thinking: On a personal level, it leads to self-blame and a morbid preoccupation with stamping out "negative" thoughts. On a national level, it's brought us an era of irrational optimism resulting in disaster. This is Ehrenreich at her provocative best-poking holes in conventional wisdom and faux science, and ending with a call for existential clarity and courage. | ||
538 | |a Mode of access: World Wide Web. | ||
650 | 0 | |a Anthropology. | |
650 | 0 | |a Culture. | |
650 | 0 | |a Political science. | |
650 | 0 | |a Social sciences. | |
700 | 1 | |a Reading, Kate,|e reader. | |
710 | 2 | |a hoopla digital. | |
856 | 4 | 0 | |u https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11822982?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435|z Instantly available on hoopla. |
856 | 4 | 2 | |z Cover image|u https://d2snwnmzyr8jue.cloudfront.net/mcm_9781427208378_180.jpeg |