Beyond Hypocrisy is about how language is used by people in power- primarily the US government- to expand their domain, promote their interests and gradually widen the gap between the haves and the have nots. The book focuses on the use of language to do this as it has applied to freedom of speech, the military industrial complex, imperialism, politics and class struggle.
The first half of the Beyond Hypocrisy (227 pages total) is made up of six chapters. The second half is split between a “Doublespeak Dictionary” and a bibliographic/notes section. The latter is necessary because the book uses ample historical detail from the last half of the 20th century to illustrate its points. As far as media is concerned, Beyond Hypocrisy describes how the media filtered and shaped news in each historical situation according to elite/government interests.
If you are looking for a light read or a book that specializes in media issues, Beyond Hypocrisy is not for you. If you have the historical curiosity and patience to absorb this dense book, or are ok with reading it faster for the main points, it does offer an interesting perspective.
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