Perspectives [Hardcover]

Hugh Downs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995

From one of America's best-known and most respected broadcast journalists--an insightful and warm-hearted collection of more than 50 clear-eyed commentaries on subjects ranging from the nature of the universe to the pleasures of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. These are his best.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Each week, Downs contributes to the radio program Perspective a 10-minute essay on whatever topic interests him, and more than 50 of those essays appear in this uneven anthology. On political-social issues, he offers some bromides obviously intended to ruffle no feathers: for example, p.c. has much to recommend it, but it creates problems, too; education is good, but we don't have enough of it in the U.S.; there has to be a lot of give and take to make a marriage work; etc. He excels, however, as a popularizer of science, explaining such complex matters as space travel, the breakthroughs that nano-technology may bring and the way we communicate by means of pheromones. Here he is sparklingly clear and painlessly didactic. The book deserves to be read if only for those selections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Wide-ranging essays from a well-known broadcast journalist.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Turner Pub; 1st edition (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157036219X
• ISBN-13: 978-1570362194
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,411,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Much of a Fresh Perspective, February 3, 2009

By 

Michael Berman (Ashburn, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Perspectives (Audio Cassette)

I just finished listening to this book on tape, and I did not particularly enjoy it. Hugh Downs seems like a really nice guy, but I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Here are some of the topics in the book:
- hear about some "interesting" things Hugh Downs has done, such as ballooning
- long discussion on the myriad wonders of Hemp
- discussion on why vampires may have really existed
- the South Pole
- whale extinction
- the surprising properties of gold
- saving the environment
- history of underwear enhancements

Warning: The topics and perspectives skew very liberal. Also, the tapes are a sub-set of the book. Assuming he chose the "best" topics to put on the tapes, one can only guess what topics in the book were deemed to be of a lower quality than what was included on the tapes.

Mr. Downs seems fascinated with etymology of words. This come up again and again. If this is a topic of interest to you, then you might enjoy this book. He also sprinkles in odd historical facts, if you like that sort of thing. For example, the Roman numeral V comes from the shape of holding up a hand with 5 fingers.

Because this book was a series of short topics, each time a new topic started I was filled with renewed hope that it would be an interesting one. Several times I thought about giving up and throwing the remaining cassettes in the trash, but then I thought the next topic could be the winning perspective I had been waiting for. Then he would say the title of the next topic (example: "We The Iroquois"), and my hope would be dashed for another 12 minutes.