Wu, Tim (2016)The Attention Merchants, The Epic Scramble To Get Inside Our Heads, (New York: Knopf) 403 pages.

Traveling through time and space, the author begins with the year a penny newspaper outsold the more respectable ones with tabloid stories and advertising.

It was 1830 and the biggest newspaper sold 2600 copies in the Big Apple of 300,000 folks. Most read something else or nothing at all. Entitled The Morning Courier and New York Advertiser, it is still the small bubble where attention grabbing supposedly began. The discovery of advertising really exploded during the war years of the 40’s, Brits and Americans went to war after being convinced and remaining loyal to the war effort. It soon became”Advertising Science.” All kinds of demographics and psychographics were analyzed and one major discovery is that the purchasing dollar was under the auspice of “women.” When tobacco was analyzed, harmful effects became muted as in the scene in Mad Men. Don Draper originated the term that Lucky Strikes were “toasted.” That made “Luckies” special, comforting, and fairly harmless.

With both radio and television became affordable and magnetic, advertising forged a new America that appeared more homogenous. Amos and Andy attracted 40 to 50 million people listening to two white buffoons talking like a cartoon version of Black vernacular. Although the author blindly describes its impact, “negroes” were nice people who lived a simple life and were happy in the “colored” district. Thus emotion surpassed reason.

The conformity of the 50’s was replaced by the counter culture and advertising was right there with the Cocoa- Cola song. Then came the “third screen.” The computer brought cable, sex chat, and constant news. On television, Oprah was working her magic, and cheaply financed “reality” shows filled the air. “MTV,” “Survivor”, “Real World” “the Hills “and others made Cable television profitable.

Back on the internet, “Face book” blogs, and the ever present search engines like “Google” are connecting more of the masses. Unless you had an ad-blockers,” all that would become mobile with “Smart Phones” Advertorials, internet specials and e-books. Currently, many turn to binge watching, looking at 12 episodes of “Blue Bloods.”

The author then suggest that you become the product, as your name spreads throughout the internet with your name commenting on mountains of presentations.

The author ends with you reclaiming your own attention and taking back yourself. Can it be done in the 21st century?

Although this is an incredible book, he overlooks racism, sexism and the like. He spends only 3 paragraphs on sex. Doesn’t he realize that the big money maker is both soft and hard pornography. That 10 to 11 year old girls and boys first get access to it? That quiz games, gambling, and related make money too?

This is a very good book, but incomplete. That does not mean that you should not buy it.

Prof. Joel Snell

Kirkwood College

Cedar Rapids, Iowa