The cruel radiance

The dominance of the electronic media has altered the way we think and write, Ron Powers observes in this collection of essays, stories, and literary nonfiction. A noted journalist whose work in print and television has earned both a Pulitzer Prize and an Emmy Award, Powers decries the effects of the mass media on the quality and nature of American life and letters. Broadcasting's emphasis on sound bytes and stark visuals performs a kind of linguistic lobotomizing that has weakened the fabric of American community because it has undermined the craft of writing. For Powers, writing and culture are inextricably intertwined; good storytelling is as central to the American temperament as jazz or baseball because it helps perpetuate our unique character: "In telling the people of a certain place the elemental tales about themselves and their place, the teller creates the common consciousness necessary for community. Likewise, the common consciousness of a community at once enhances the need for a teller.". But Powers does not just defend good storytelling; he practices it, and the selections here serve as clear examples of the kind of thoughtful, well-turned writing he argues for. Bread