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Barry Glassner  

Best-Selling Author

The author of seven books on contemporary social issues, Barry Glassner is Professor of Sociology and President of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. His book, The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things, is a national bestseller and was named a Best Book of the Year by Knight-Ridder newspapers and by the Los Angeles TimesBook Review. Kirkus Reviews describes Glassner's book as "one of the most important sociological books you'll read this year, and certainly the most reassuring."

In his other bestseller, The Gospel of Food, Glassner argues that by abandoning food fads and mythical beliefs about diet, Americans will eat better and lead happier lives. The book reveals the true reason we're so captivated and confused by food. Marketers of everything from organic pizzas to three-star restaurants to diet plans have a pecuniary interest in complicating our relationship to food. "Glassner exposes the strained interpretations, 'prejudices dressed up as science,' and pure fabrications behind much received wisdom," The New York Times wrote of The Gospel of Food, a book that The Los Angeles Times described as "pure fun to read."

Described by The New York Times as "a master at the art of dissecting research," Glassner has published research studies in The American Sociological Review, American Journal of Psychiatry and other leading journals in the social sciences. His articles and commentaries have appeared in newspapers including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education and he is the recipient of several honors, including an "outstanding book of the year" award from Choice magazine and a visiting fellowship at Oxford University.

Featured prominently in Michael Moore's Academy Award-winning documentary, Bowling for Columbine, Glassner has appeared on numerous television programs, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, Hardball, The O'Reilly Factor, The Oprah Winfrey Show and various news programs on CNN, CNBC, and MSNBC, and on radio shows including NPR's "Morning Edition," "All Things Considered", "Fresh Air", "Talk of the Nation," and "Marketplace" and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's "Ideas" program.

Speech Topics


The Culture of Fear

The Gospel of Food

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