TV by Susan Bordo is another insightful volume in the Object Lessons series. Bordo covers both a brief history of programming and a critique of what that programming has wrought, namely a horrible President* and a divided nation with the delusional half led by the orange menace. And it was through TV that a failed (multiple times) businessman was able to rebuild his image and convince a large number (but never a majority) of the population that a misogynistic, racist, sexual predator was a gift from their God.

Bordo traces the shows and even the commercials to some extent (since they blended seamlessly for some time) from early news and broadcast shows to news as entertainment (or propaganda in the case of Faux News) and more nuanced broadcast and cable/streaming shows. Using televisions most disgusting product, Trump, as the endpoint allows her to show the subtle steps along the way that brought us to this abomination.

If you're old enough to remember many of the shows and events she mentions, which I am, this is also an eye-opening trip down memory lane, albeit one that serves as more than mere nostalgia. No doubt some will be put off by Bordo making such a clear case for the catastrophe that has been the Trump administration being largely brought about and sustained by television. And unlike some who are thee imbecilic, television and ratings are indeed how Trump measured his success, Twitter was a tool he used to help toward that end. The asinine tweets are what made the news and created the controversies that got him unlimited television time free of charge. But thee delusional is, well, not very discerning, much like Trump himself. But loves to think he is clever.

Like most of the volumes in this series, I highly recommend this one. Each one is different, some more or less personal, some more or less analytical. That is what makes the series fun, each volume isn't simply a cookie-cutter brief about the given object but one writer's way into and through that object.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )