Customer Reviews

Stacked Deck: A Story of Selfishness in America

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Larry Mitchell has written a heartfelt and compassionate book that sucessfully debunks the American myth of self-reliance at all costs. If you have ever wondered why we have lost a sense of community, why the rich get richer while others do not, or why we have lost the valuable human connections that make life worth living, you must read his book. Mitchell adeptly shows why we are all vulnerable in some way and why we should care about the less fortunate -- who have had the deck stacked against them by our institutions and our thoughtless devotion to self-reliance. Stacked Deck is a must read. If we pay attention to Mitchell's argument, we might make a more compassionate world.

Some authors, in effort to strengthen their own message, try and impress the reader with intellectual jargon. Instead, it puts many readers to sleep (and the book back on the shelf). Other authors, in effort to attract a broader audience, dilute their message with simple prose and, unfortunately, simplistic ideas. Mitchell's recipe for success is his ability to toe the line without reducing the impact of his message. This book should be read by every person who is not an Ivy League graduate, a country club member, or a BMW owner--and, more importantly, this book should be read by every person who is.

Mitchell asks the question each and every one of us should ask ourselves at every opportunity, "Why do we treat the obviously vulnerable as different and vulnerability as pathological?" Then he states what should be obvious but is decidedly not: "A society that cares for your child will be a society in which your child cares for others." This book deserves a wide audience.