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Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age Hardcover – October 6, 2015

by Sherry Turkle (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 93 customer reviews
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  • Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Press (October 6, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1594205558
  • ISBN-13: 978-1594205552
  • Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.4 x 9.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsWould You Rather Text than Talk?
By Sam Horn, Intrigue Expert on October 8, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition
Have you watched Sherry Turkle's TED talk - Connected, But Alone? - which has more than 3 million views?

If so, you already know she is a masterful communicator. She held a ballroom of 5000 American Society of Association Executives spellbound at their annual convention this summer with the backstory of her research for "Reclaiming Conversation."

A few of the intriguing sound-bites from that talk (and this book) include:

a. "We will always be lonely unless we learn to like being alone."

b. "We let digital devices dictate our daily life at great cost. They are an assault on compassion."

c. "What people want most is autonomy over where they put their attention."

d. Studies report a 40% drop in empathy - which is the crucial ability to be present, put ourselves in the other person's shoes and imagine what they're feeling.

e. People rather text than talk - because online they can take their time to edit and get it RIGHT.

f. Even a silenced phone on a table changes the quality of conversation - because people are reluctant to go deep and be personal if they think they'll be interrupted.

g. Our inability to be alone with our thoughts and our fear of conversation ("It's so open-ended, I can't control it:) is the new "Silent Spring."

The good news is, this book is not just a cautionary tale. It has a prescription for how we can "make time and space for face-to-face."

An important book that can help readers re-connect with what and who is most important - each other.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA REAL wake up call for us millennials
By Amazon Customer on October 15, 2015
Format: Hardcover
I’m 25. When I'm with friends, we have our phones out all the time, even at dinner and movies. And only sometimes, someone will object. I’ve never given much thought to why - actually I didn't even realize I had my phone in my hand 24/7. This book is a real eye-opener. When I’m busy on my phone, I did try to listen to what other people are saying, but I recognize now that I was barely paying attention to them.

In this beautifully written, passionate book, Turkle discusses how what I’m doing has become how conversation has moved in the culture as a whole. So many of us divide our attention between our friends and our phones, between our co-workers and our email. Now in team meetings, I make sure to keep my phone in my bag and at dinner, I don't put it on the table. Turkle is not didactic or preachy, but this book is filled with great examples of the costs of a life lived with an eye to “elsewhere.” This is a great read and a real wake up call.
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5.0 out of 5 starsI waited a long time for this book to come ...
By Joy Freed on October 7, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
I waited a long time for this book to come out. Dr. Turkle is a powerful voice in our culture today. As I work at a University I see firsthand how vulnerable we all are to substituting true intimacy and conversation for mere connections. I can sit for hours tapping away at my computer and forget the people sitting in their offices all around me - isolated - in need of deep and meaningful conversations. I walk around campus and see people looking down at screens, on the buses, at dining tables, waiting in lines. I join with Dr. Turkle to look up and help reclaim the conversations that keep us human. Thank you Dr. Turkle for writing such a deep, thoughtful, and comprehensive book!
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe publisher's dry description of the book, while accurate ...
By mrktw on October 14, 2015
Format: Hardcover
The publisher's dry description of the book, while accurate, does not do this book justice. It's an eloquent, impassioned, and often moving examination of the consequences of our device addiction to ourselves, our children, our friends, and our colleagues. Prof. Turkle has put her heart and soul (plus five years of research) into this convincing call to stop paying attention to our devices and start paying attention to each other.
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3.0 out of 5 starsDoesn't meet up to the title's promise
By Rosannah J. on November 20, 2015
Format: Hardcover
I was all set to get into what looked like an intelligent read pertaining to the tech inundation of recent years. As with so many reads today, it all starts out so well, but once you approach the mid-section and beyond, it becomes a stuffed turkey: repetitive and rather shallow. The point is belabored and Turkle doesn't bravely come out with the bare truth: these phones that children are now on are addictive.
Neuroscientists are clearly saying this. Ms. Turkle doesn't even go into this at all, yet she is describing withdrawals, anxiety attacks in usually young people when they are without their electronic drug, i.e.: phone. She just repeats her premise with unnecessary instances of the problem. We get it. My feeling for the scenarios she goes into where you have families preferring texting over real conversation where things get messy is that she's guilty of this herself, and also a tad addicted to her phone. What irks me about all this texting and phones, and such is the sheer inability for adults to set limits on their children and worse--themselves. The inability for schools to have policies on phone appropriateness is just another indication of the Boomer generation and their inability to set limits. I know there are private schools where phones are not permitted at all until after school, and it looks like this policy should be the rule--especially for the young ones.The fact that a school asks Ms. Turkle to help them figure out this problem with 'tweens lacking empathy, yet the school has no policy on setting limits with phones, is just dumb. When Turkle gets to the part where she offers possible remedies to this problem, it's weak, because of the sheer fact that she has no muscle, like many of her generation, to simply say: "O.K. Enough phone time. OFF".Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA good read and valuable info!

A good read and valuable information!

Published 13 days ago by Susan in West Chester
4.0 out of 5 starsRead this book if you were born before 1970

I consider myself very social media savvy (email, texting, Facebook, etc.) for my age; it's necessary to stay up with the grand kids. Read more

Published 19 days ago by Roger P. Lempke
5.0 out of 5 starsA must read

A must read for anyone concerned about their own or their children's "continuous connection" through smart devices.

Published 1 month ago by SuSu
2.0 out of 5 starsRipped.

I opened the box to find dirty fingerprints on the cover of the book, and the binding of the book is ripped. Definitely not satisfied.

Published 1 month ago by Kelsey S.
5.0 out of 5 starsHelpful, practical, and very interesting!

Thought-provoking and relatable -- this book puts into words many of the feelings I have had as society becomes more and more screen-dependent. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Texas GeeGee
4.0 out of 5 starsDigital communication has a dark side.

An excellent book. Love the insights.

Published 1 month ago by michael j penny
5.0 out of 5 starsWonderful insight.Best book I have read.

Must read for young and old. Wonderful insight My number one book.

Published 1 month ago by sailor
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

This book is required for a class I am taking..

Published 2 months ago by 1slasher
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent reading put simply together by a prolific writer on ...

Excellent reading put simply together by a prolific writer on the issue of how social media and smart technology is affecting our conversations.

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsA "Must Read" Book

This is a "must read" book for everyone; not just for the parents of young kids who have been raised on smart phones. pads and tablets. Read more

Published 2 months ago by david ambler

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