The Twilight of American Culture by Morris Berman  (96)
$10.17
|
Being Is Enough: Collective Self-Help for a Sustainable World by Doug Brown  (1)
$33.00
|
The Nanny Diaries: A Novel by Emma McLaughlin  (1,407)
|
On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense by David Brooks (50)
|
Religion and American Culture by George M. Marsden  (3)
$38.36
|
This item is not eligible for Amazon Prime, but millions of other items are. Join Amazon Prime today. Already a member? Sign in.
The Eagle's Shadow
and over 160,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle – Amazon’s new wireless reading device. Learn more
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In May 2001, Hertsgaard (Earth Odyssey: Around the World in Search of Our Environmental Future) began a six-month journey through 15 countries to interview people of all sorts, from bus drivers to former parliamentarians, about one thing: the United States. Each chapter of his book opens with an anecdote illustrating a perception he found to be widespread: the United States is a land of vast wealth but also gross self-indulgence; American leaders are influential but arrogant and na‹ve; and American citizens have immense freedom but are nonetheless insulated and ignorant. The impressions Hertsgaard gathers, however, serve primarily as springboards from which he plunges into his own blunt, sometimes dour analysis of American attitudes, practices and institutions. Hertsgaard at one point tells of a Cuban boy he met after America's presidential elections. "It sounds like you are having trouble with your democracy in the United States," the boy teases. "Perhaps Cuba should send you election observers next time." The wisecrack is an apt introduction to Hertsgaard's interpretation of the Florida ballot impasse, which he thinks exemplifies the faults of America's democratic process. If Hertsgaard's strength lies in elaborating upon foreigners' perceptions, however, his weakness lies in the way he addresses his readers. "I know that parts of this book will be difficult for some Americans to hear," he writes, in a tone a bit too superior
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Hertsgaard was already circling the globe investigating other nations' perceptions of America when last September's terrorist attacks lent an unanticipated urgency to his findings. Few of those he interviewed in the 15 countries he visited express anything like the deep hatred of the U.S. that motivated the terrorists. Many voice warm admiration for America's dynamic economy, vibrant culture, and open political system. However, these same people also complain bitterly about how Americans dominate a world we poorly understand, sanctimoniously boast of democratic virtues while ignoring our complicity in the crimes of authoritarian regimes, and destroy other countries' deep-rooted cultural traditions by exporting our crass culture of self-indulgence and haste. Readers troubled by these criticisms may discount some of them as a reflection of the author's avowedly left-wing perspective. But much more than authorial tendentiousness lies behind the widespread and intense distrust of America that confronts us in these pages. And as difficult as sober self-criticism may be amidst the flag-waving that now defines the national mood, Hertsgaard summons us to that task. Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
In May 2001, Hertsgaard (Earth Odyssey: Around the World in Search of Our Environmental Future) began a six-month journey through 15 countries to interview people of all sorts, from bus drivers to former parliamentarians, about one thing: the United States. Each chapter of his book opens with an anecdote illustrating a perception he found to be widespread: the United States is a land of vast wealth but also gross self-indulgence; American leaders are influential but arrogant and na‹ve; and American citizens have immense freedom but are nonetheless insulated and ignorant. The impressions Hertsgaard gathers, however, serve primarily as springboards from which he plunges into his own blunt, sometimes dour analysis of American attitudes, practices and institutions. Hertsgaard at one point tells of a Cuban boy he met after America's presidential elections. "It sounds like you are having trouble with your democracy in the United States," the boy teases. "Perhaps Cuba should send you election observers next time." The wisecrack is an apt introduction to Hertsgaard's interpretation of the Florida ballot impasse, which he thinks exemplifies the faults of America's democratic process. If Hertsgaard's strength lies in elaborating upon foreigners' perceptions, however, his weakness lies in the way he addresses his readers. "I know that parts of this book will be difficult for some Americans to hear," he writes, in a tone a bit too superior
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Hertsgaard was already circling the globe investigating other nations' perceptions of America when last September's terrorist attacks lent an unanticipated urgency to his findings. Few of those he interviewed in the 15 countries he visited express anything like the deep hatred of the U.S. that motivated the terrorists. Many voice warm admiration for America's dynamic economy, vibrant culture, and open political system. However, these same people also complain bitterly about how Americans dominate a world we poorly understand, sanctimoniously boast of democratic virtues while ignoring our complicity in the crimes of authoritarian regimes, and destroy other countries' deep-rooted cultural traditions by exporting our crass culture of self-indulgence and haste. Readers troubled by these criticisms may discount some of them as a reflection of the author's avowedly left-wing perspective. But much more than authorial tendentiousness lies behind the widespread and intense distrust of America that confronts us in these pages. And as difficult as sober self-criticism may be amidst the flag-waving that now defines the national mood, Hertsgaard summons us to that task. Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details
|
