Official Review: Civilisation Hijacked by Albert Morris

[Poppy Drear]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Civilisation Hijacked" by Albert Morris.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Civilisation Hijacked by Albert Morris is a book that attempts to lampoon the greatest evils of modern times, in addition to providing ways that humanity can collectively overcome them. In general, it succeeds at this first point, with an extensive list of decisions made on the parts of companies, governments, and media outlets that do great harm. This part of the book was strikingly similar to opinions that appear to be held by many millennials, who are starting to see the shortcomings of an extensively capitalist system.

However, the solutions Morris proposes are somewhat weak. They mostly boil down to discussions of education that closely mimic other sources, such as praising the Montessori Method of education, and this part of the book felt much less thorough and researched than the evaluation of society's problems. This is especially a problem due to the book's tagline, "Rescuing Jesus from Christianity and the Human Spirit from Bondage," suggests that a discussion of solutions will make up much more of the book than it does.

Speaking of Christianity, the author denounces organized religion entirely, often stopping just short of calling it outright lies and propaganda. While I'm not a part of any organized religion myself, in my opinion, this viewpoint is incredibly short-sighted and fails to take into account the good that many people do in the name of religion. While religion has undoubtedly been the root of many societal ills, I still can't help but feel that the author's viewpoint completely ignores some very important nuances.

The book is also organized in a way that makes it hard to follow. Morris opens with an extended summary of the book's contents, and the rest of the text consists of a collection of essays of varying lengths that focus on the topics he outlined at the start. This made reading feel somewhat directionless, and the writing at times seems to be stream-of-consciousness. It seems like it would've been more effective to pair specific issues with their proposed solutions.

Ultimately, Morris takes a well-researched and thorough look at the problems plaguing our modern society, but this is severely hampered by its lack of depth in discussing issues like religion and education, as well as its confusing layout. Therefore, I rate the book 2 out of 4 stars. There were also a significant number of grammatical errors, mostly pertaining to comma and hyphen usage, as well as capitalization. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to examine the major issues with our current capitalist society, so long as they can overlook the shortcomings I mentioned earlier.

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Civilisation Hijacked
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[kdstrack]

Thank you for your enlightening review of this book. I've always thought education is important. However, along with the knowledge acquired through education, people also need wisdom to know how to use that knowledge. It seems like this book does not bridge that gap. Great analysis of the book!

[kandscreeley]

I have no doubt that decisions are being made that aren't for anyone's benefit but perhaps those that own these companies. However, I'm not sure this book really makes a difference in any of its proposed answers. Thanks for the review, but I'm going to pass.

[Jessacardinal]

Speaking of Christianity, the author denounces organized religion entirely, often stopping just short of calling it outright lies and propaganda. While I'm not a part of any organized religion myself, in my opinion, this viewpoint is incredibly short-sighted and fails to take into account the good that many people do in the name of religion. While religion has undoubtedly been the root of many societal ills, I still can't help but feel that the author's viewpoint completely ignores some very important nuances.

I can't like this comment enough! If the author aims to make the world a better place, speaking poorly of the largest group of people who would otherwise be willing to help this movement is most likely not the best route to take.

[linham02660]

Greed is the downfall to all civilizations. It is too bad the author did not delve more into the solutions. I agree education should be much more individualized and much less conforming but in saying that we MUST do much more accurate teaching of world history. Thanks for your review. I will pass on the book.

[BelleReadsNietzsche]

Thanks for this insightful review. It sounds like this book does not offer much beyond an assessment of issues facing the world today that many might agree with. Education is essential, but I'm not sure Montessori will cure all that ails us.

[EvaDar]

I remember seeing this book in my selections and thinking it looked intriguing. It's too bad it had some problems with the essays falling apart somewhat. I think it is sometimes difficult to review a book with a religious theme. I just reviewed such a book and was a bit challenged by the review process. Great job on this one!

[jlrinc]

I agree with you about the silliness of disparaging all of eeligion for the acts of the past without ackniwledging it has often been the spur to greater good.This is a problem with a lot of atheists these days.