Anyone else read this book?
I am just finishing it now and have to say I really enjoyed it. Has anyone read his other book ‘Bobos in Paradise’?
I was surprised to learn the author was actually a political pundit of some sort. I would not have guessed while I was reading the book.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this book.
Haven’t read it but it’s on my radar - Brooks is one of the few Conservative pundits I enjoy listening to and reading and the book’s concept sounds interesting.
What did you like about it?
It made me think differently about things, it’s hard to put into words. He uses a lot of current research, into the roles of the conscious and unconscious mind, plus the roles of intuition/instinct and emotion, in the functioning of our brains. It was very interesting. I think I may read it again.
There was certainly a lot presented, that gives you pause to think about yourself, in his story. Choice, especially, maybe doesn’t quite function the way we always thought. Perhaps the importance of imagination and creativity have been understated.
He quotes a study where Europeans were shown, for but a brief moment, the faces of the two front runners, in some distant foreign political race. With no context, racially, politically, anything. And they consistently predicted the winner. That’s kind of fascinating to me. What’s going on there?
I know nothing of this authour and may seek out his other book, I’m not sure if it’s political commentary, or not.
I haven’t read it but I want to. I enjoy his NYT columns.
[Useless sidebar: I went to high school with his brother, and to the brother’s wedding. David was the best man and gave the most thoughtful and touching toast I’ve ever heard. He’s a great writer and speaker.]
He also wrote On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense
Here’s my review from Sep 2006:
** “America hungers for success, and manifestly is a success, and at the same time suspects that worldly success will be its undoing.”
**
To start this collection of observations, Brooks explores the types of communities in Modern America - starting with the urban “culture-based industries” of the hipster, continuing on to the “crunchy suburbs” (hipsters with kids). Next is the inner ring, combining cocooning with telecommuting, then the suburban core - where the golf concept of “par” seems to rule, finishing with the exurbs = “Mayberry with Blackberries” True rural communities get short shrift - too easy a target?
He then riffs on Patio Man and Realtor Mom (children = Travel Team Girl & BuzzCut Boy) as suburban stereotypes, navigating the “archipelagos of big box malls” returning to their miniMcMansions placed much too close together. He cites a visit to a price club: “[She] stocks up on so many fat-free, sugar-free, lactose-free and cholesterol-free items, that the boxes she carries might as well be empty.”
Other topics include magazines as a tool for “anticipatory hedonism”; expectations for children being focused on the short-term future vs making overarching goals and how the current (2004) college generation doesn’t seem to have anything to rebel against, so they don’t bother. On our position in world politics: “[Americans] have to act on the world stage, which is a place that doesn’t interest most of them.”
I found the concept of Cosmic Blondes (vapid, yet rising effortlessly through their career path) vs Cosmic Brunettes (observing & reflecting, fretting & fuming) rather amusing - 3 guesses as to which group I identify with?
While most of the book is simply pulled from his own observations, Brooks pulls in outside references (Toqueville, among others) as well; pointing out that " for about 260 years, America has been rich and allegedly money-mad and materialistic." … and we’ve survived this far. If you’re already a bit dubious about the cultural or sociological state of the US of A - this book probably won’t help your state of mind; the level of snark is awfully high & the points he makes can hit pretty close to home. He does try to wrap things up on a hopeful note, but the mishmash of topics makes it difficult to wrap things up neatly.
I would recommend this as a loaner or second-hand purchase; Brooks has a way with a clever turn of phrase; I just wish he’d pulled what seems to be a collection of essays & observations into a more cohesive whole.
Thank you. A family member received this as a Christmas gift. I’ll add it to my reading list.