Backlash: The Undeserved War Against Susan FaludiRandy Shawbyline‚ Apr. 10‚ 2008“This, sadly, is the sort of tendentious, self-important, sloppily reasoned book that gives feminism a bad name.” --- Michiko Kakutani, New York Times, Oct. 23, 2007 Susan Faludi is among the nation’s pre-eminent nonfiction writers. Her two prior books, the landmark Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women and the less successful but also provocative Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man, stimulated wide-ranging public debate. But Faludi’s most recent book, Terror Dreams: Fear and Fantasy in Post 9/11 America, received far less attention. While most reviews were favorable, perhaps the most prominent was New York Times reviewer Michiko Kakutani’s unusually harsh critique. I think the reason Terror Dreams did not enter the public debate, and that Faludi’s journalistic credibility has been attacked, is that she effectively challenged the fundamental integrity of the United States media machine. Terror Dreams uses the media’s preference for fantasy over fact in its 9/11 coverage to demonstrate how “facts” are fabricated and widely spread regarding a broad range of issues to serve certain ideological agendas. Faludi hit too close to home in Terror Dreams, and the media industry responded by ignoring her message and demeaning her journalism skills---but this is a book that every progressive and media critic should read. |