War of Words: Language, Politics and 9/11

By: Sandra Silberstein

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Synopsis: In a media age, wars are waged not only with bombs and planes but also with video and sound bites. War of Words is an incisive report from the linguistic battlefields, probing the tales told about September 11th to show how Americans created consensus in the face of terror. Capturing the campaigns for America's hearts, minds, wallets and votes, Silberstein traces the key cultural conflicts that surfaced after the attacks and beyond: the attacks on critical intellectuals for their perceived 'blame America first' attitude the symbiotic relationship between terrorists and the media (mis)representations of Al Qaeda and the Taliban used to justify military action the commercialisation of September 11th news as 'entertainment' when covering tragic events. Now featuring a new chapter on the Second Anniversary and Beyond, including: the war in Iraq, the backlash against former 'heroes' and accusations of presidential mendacity.A perceptive and disturbing account, War of Words reveals the role of the media in manufacturing events and illuminates the shifting sands of American collective identity in the post September 11th world.