Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your e-mail address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Print List Price: £11.99
Kindle Price: £8.99

Save £3.00 (25%)

includes VAT*
Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
This price was set by the publisher
* Unlike print books, digital books are subject to VAT.

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

Enter a promotion code or Gift Card

Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Flip to back Flip to front
Audible Narration Playing... Paused   You are listening to a sample of the Audible narration for this Kindle book.
Learn more

Everything Bad is Good for You: How Popular Culture is Making Us Smarter Kindle Edition

by
Steven Johnson (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Steven Johnson Page
search results for this author
Steven Johnson (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars 16 customer reviews
See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Amazon Price
New from Used from
Kindle Edition
"Please retry"
£8.99
— —
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
£55.10 £0.01
Paperback
"Please retry"
£11.99
£4.99 £0.01
Length: 244 pages Word Wise: Enabled
Save up to 60% on eBooks & audio
Browse over 100 eBooks and audio, on sale from £1.99 until 27 April, 2016. Shop now

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Back
  1. How We Got to Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern World
    Steven Johnson
    4.2 out of 5 stars 44
    Kindle Edition
    £5.49
  2. Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
    Steven Johnson
    4.2 out of 5 stars 27
    Kindle Edition
    £5.49
  3. Stalingrad (Pocket Penguin 70's series Book 16)
    Antony Beevor
    4.7 out of 5 stars 248
    Kindle Edition
    £5.49
  4. NeuroTribes: The legacy of autism and how to think smarter about people who think differently
    Steve Silberman
    4.6 out of 5 stars 123
    Kindle Edition
    £6.64
  5. Old Man and the Sea
    Ernest Hemingway
    4.3 out of 5 stars 473
    Kindle Edition
    £5.99
  6. Finnegans Wake
    James Joyce
    3.9 out of 5 stars 394
    Kindle Edition
    £0.99
Next

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 1451 KB
  • Print Length: 244 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1594481946
  • Publisher: Penguin (6 April 2006)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B002RI9XB0
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray:
  • Word Wise: Enabled
  • Enhanced Typesetting: Not Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars 16 customer reviews
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #300,207 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

    •  Would you like to give feedback on images or tell us about a lower price?

Customer Reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
5 star
7
4 star
5
3 star
2
2 star
2
1 star
0
See all 16 customer reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsInteresting, but not authoritative
By Amazon Customer VINE VOICE on 11 July 2005
Format: Hardcover
As a keen gamer, I plan to show this book to everyone who tells me I'm wasting time! The book explores a premise called the Sleeper Curve, a term invented by Johnson and used liberally throughout the book, explaining that those forms of mass culture that are most slated for being mindless and simplistic are in fact challenging our brains in ever newer and more complex ways. By examining the changes in television, film and games over the last few decades, and citing results of IQ studies and other publications, Johnson certainly makes a persuasive argument for the complexification of American culture.
However, a major flaw with this book as far as I see it is its concentration on America and American media. Whether older British television is indeed as simple compared to today's shows as Johnson claims American TV is, I cannot say; however, I suspect that at least some of our older television still challenges today's audiences. Equally, results of spurious IQ studies (with Johnson himself mentioning that IQ is not necessarily a good measure of intelligence) are entirely divorced from our culture. Having lived in America, I did understand most of the references to television shows, but there were still some which passed me by, unfortunately.
In terms of style the book is fairly heavy-going (at least initially) since it takes a more academic than casual tone. Certainly the term 'Sleeper Curve' is accurate as I fell asleep reading it a few times, and I felt more like I was ploughing through reams of justification than following a series of eloquent arguments.Read more ›
Comment 28 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
3.0 out of 5 starsnot as good as his other books but worth a quick read
By V. Pollard on 7 Nov. 2006
Format: Paperback
i'm a big fan of Stephen Johnson's writing. Interface Culture should be on every digital media-related course's reading list and blew my mind at the time. I also think Emergence is a great book, which expands into more scientific areas. that said, i found this book slightly disappointing. it is well written and interesting in parts but there's nothing especially surprising or thought-provoking in it (especially if you've read his other books) and i left feeling it would've been better as a magazine or newspaper article rather than something you have to pay £8 for. ironically (given the commentary on fit for purpose media). there was a fair bit of repetition (at one point i was thinking "if he mentions how gaming improves your cognitive skills one more time i'm gonna scream") and the referencing of Nietszche e.g. just struck me as gratuitous. if you're a fast reader or haven't read his other books then you may enjoy it but is less challenging and less interesting than his other writing. it's less academic and therefore more accessible than his other stuff so would probably buy this for someone that needed persuading, which perhaps is the audience he's aiming for with this one.
Comment 9 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsFantastic book which presents a whole new way of looking ...
By Saba Siddiqi on 7 Jan. 2016
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
Fantastic book which presents a whole new way of looking at modern day media. I didn't even realize that such a unique perspective would have existed. I've read FAR too many books and articles that all cry about the modern day trash that is television, video games and franchise movies, so it was a genuine pleasure to see a book analyzing the evolution and growing complexities of these mediums. The observations, analysis and evidence were soundly compelling and persuasive... and the writing itself was smooth, engaging and interesting. This book should be put on the list for 'recommended reading' for all Media and Communications university students.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
3.0 out of 5 starsAn interesting spin
By giraffe on 3 Mar. 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Great idea of a book to look at new media from a different perspective, although I found it quite repetitive.
Could have been much more concise, I found myself scanning and skipping.
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
2.0 out of 5 starsElitism Rules! OK?
By Junglies on 15 Jun. 2008
Format: Paperback
This is a provocative book which warrants serious consideration. The author postulates that through the device of the sleeper curve, the various technological developments which pervade popular culture are not dumbing down America, but rather leading to development of a broader range of skills than credited by academic experts.

He sets out his view in sections devoted to video games, film, and very briefly, the internet, and explores the differing skills which are exercised during their consumption.

As someone who has exhibited a preference for aspects of popular culture as opposed to high culture for most of my life, the argument is very attractive at the outset. As one delves deeper into the subject serious questions arise as to whether there is a general case to answer.

Consider video games, where our author testifies to the skills required to play some of the more complex games such as Grand Theft Auto. There is a strong case to be made here but the issue is rather deflated when one considers that the vast majority of game players consume sports and other games which are considerably less complex and demanding.

Film also has a substantial longevity in the popular pantheon of leisure activities. It manages to portray a story and certain sophisticated complexities but still lacks by far the great leap forward that one achieves through reading a novel.

I would reject a notion that the use of the internet provides much of an intellectual challenge, given the degree to which internet consumers access porn sites and where much of the content is clearly aimed at the lower end of the spectrum

Having said all of this, I believe that there is something in the authors argument, but in a more narrow sense.Read more ›
Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Fabulous

Published 11 months ago by Amy Taylor
5.0 out of 5 starsInteresting read

For my first non-fiction have enjoyed this much more then I thought, have given it five stars as I went into it thinking I might bore of it fast but it's fresh view has certainly... Read more

Published 21 months ago by LeeM
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat product received on time. Thanks

Great product received on time. Thanks

Published on 4 Sept. 2013 by Christine Boshelle
2.0 out of 5 starsIncomplete

Several paragraphs of the preview chapter alone introduce a picture, diagram or other image which is simply absent, apparently not included in the electronic version. Read more

Published on 19 Nov. 2010 by Antbox
5.0 out of 5 starsbrilliant

simply one of the best books i've ever read. it finally gave me valid arguments for things i knew to be true...

Published on 5 July 2010 by ppferraz
5.0 out of 5 starsThis book is so good. And it's good for you.

Are you annoyed with classical music and classical literature fans who believe that they are somehow better, nobler, finer than the rest of us, just because everything they like is... Read more

Published on 28 Dec. 2009 by Printul Noptilor
4.0 out of 5 starsEverything Bad is Good for You - Steven Johnson

Very interesting and really sums up the current media debate! going to be really useful when starting by media uni course in september!

Published on 26 April 2009 by Ms. Eilidh White
4.0 out of 5 starsEverything Bad is Good for You is Good for You

Johnson is one of my favourite writers; this might not be his best book, ('Emergence' is) but this is like spending a weekend with a fascinating eccentric, one whose arguments are... Read more

Published on 17 Jun. 2008 by A. Stark
4.0 out of 5 starsGrand Moff Tarkin...why grand Moff Tarkin??

First let me say that this is a truelly inspiring book, after reading it I not only feel entirely justified in my TV and DVD viewing but a little ashamed of myself for not playing... Read more

Published on 25 May 2007 by Pacman
4.0 out of 5 starsThis Book Was Good For Me

I value this book immensely because it highlighted that my generation had not wasted away on computer games, formulaic film and TV content. Read more

Published on 17 Jan. 2007 by Simon Drake

Customer Discussions

Look for similar items by category

There's a problem loading this menu at the moment.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.

 
Feedback
If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
Would you like to report poor quality or formatting in this book? Click here
Would you like to report this content as inappropriate? Click here
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? Click here