Or, to give this feature its proper title: 'Impromptu Book Review, From Memory, Of A Book I've Not Read In Ages.' The book, 'Big Babies: Or Why Can't We Just Grow Up?' which was released in 2006. I like this book, it's simple, it's well researched with amusing examples, and it's written in an engaging way. The core theme is the increasing 'infantilisation' of people, and of society, and what we can do to combat it.
Among the many problems discussed, in a wry and frustrated manner, are: an infantalising press, capable of lowering the lowest common denominator; a loss of individuality, particularly with the rise of media sources, and the increase in the number of CCTV cameras monitoring every movement, making a private life more or less impossible - for once that overused term 'Orwellian' seems appropriate to use. Other topics and examples include the increase of the blame culture, which, Bywater argues, increases overblown 'outrage' and 'offence' which encourages people to be unwilling to accept their responsibilities, indicative of a culture which is totally solipsistic and unpleasant. Examples given of a bag of peanuts which says 'warning: may contain nuts' and a similar look through the carriage of a train at the unbelievably numerous signs, suggest that he is right. We are safer, mollycoddled, and have largely lost our common sense at the hands of a shady grim-faced enforcers of the petty regulations that have been put in place ostensibly to protect us.
The book is interesting, and although it's perhaps a little overlong, makes its points well. That's not to say that there aren't problems: some of the examples given are wrong, while other, more topical examples, have become irrelevant over time - not Bywater's fault, but it makes a contemporary reading less compelling. There is also a jarring confusion between 'agnostic' and 'atheist' which ruins an otherwise strong argument. Similarly irksome is the juxtaposition of mocking humans for their tendency towards nostalgia, and Bywater himself frequently referring to a brief, golden age between the late 1950s and the advent of modern day venereal diseases - something which is patently not true for all in the United Kingdom (where the book is written and aimed at).
However, the underlying motive of the book - to prevent ourselves from becoming one of the infantalised masses, is a valid one. The advice given: ask the question 'why;' think for yourself (a great idea, especially when one is reminded to be oneself at the request of another); to retain common sense; and most importantly, to go out of your way not to be a prick - remains valid, and would, if kept to, make the world a better place to be.
Recommendation: Worth a read.
Among the many problems discussed, in a wry and frustrated manner, are: an infantalising press, capable of lowering the lowest common denominator; a loss of individuality, particularly with the rise of media sources, and the increase in the number of CCTV cameras monitoring every movement, making a private life more or less impossible - for once that overused term 'Orwellian' seems appropriate to use. Other topics and examples include the increase of the blame culture, which, Bywater argues, increases overblown 'outrage' and 'offence' which encourages people to be unwilling to accept their responsibilities, indicative of a culture which is totally solipsistic and unpleasant. Examples given of a bag of peanuts which says 'warning: may contain nuts' and a similar look through the carriage of a train at the unbelievably numerous signs, suggest that he is right. We are safer, mollycoddled, and have largely lost our common sense at the hands of a shady grim-faced enforcers of the petty regulations that have been put in place ostensibly to protect us.
The book is interesting, and although it's perhaps a little overlong, makes its points well. That's not to say that there aren't problems: some of the examples given are wrong, while other, more topical examples, have become irrelevant over time - not Bywater's fault, but it makes a contemporary reading less compelling. There is also a jarring confusion between 'agnostic' and 'atheist' which ruins an otherwise strong argument. Similarly irksome is the juxtaposition of mocking humans for their tendency towards nostalgia, and Bywater himself frequently referring to a brief, golden age between the late 1950s and the advent of modern day venereal diseases - something which is patently not true for all in the United Kingdom (where the book is written and aimed at).
However, the underlying motive of the book - to prevent ourselves from becoming one of the infantalised masses, is a valid one. The advice given: ask the question 'why;' think for yourself (a great idea, especially when one is reminded to be oneself at the request of another); to retain common sense; and most importantly, to go out of your way not to be a prick - remains valid, and would, if kept to, make the world a better place to be.
Recommendation: Worth a read.
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