The diagnosis rings truer than the cures.
A Harvard law professor presents the case that America has become structurally compromised with a pervasiveness that transcends individual corruption.
In a book based on a series of lectures, Lessig (Republic Lost: 2.0, 2015), co-founder of Creative Commons, focuses on how the country’s institutions are no longer serving the purposes for which they were designed. They have succumbed to third-party interests: wealthy, corporate, market forces, all of which have vested interests in helping the rich get richer. “My belief is that we have allowed core institutions of America’s economic, social, and political life to become corrupted,” writes the author. “Not by evil souls, but by good souls. Not through crime, but through compromise.” In our current situation, wealth exerts its influence wherever such influence can manifest itself, from campaign financing that restricts the choices of candidates from which average Americans can choose to academic research funded for the benefit of those doing the funding. Lessig also shows how pharmaceutical companies have compromised the profession of psychiatry, promoting the dubious concept of “chemical imbalance” that can be balanced by prescription, and how market forces and technological disruption have transformed media in general and journalism in particular, catering to the appetite for junk food where democracy demands nourishment. The author is more convincing in his case against “institutional corruption” than in finding the solution. As he writes in the chapter on the media, where he suggests that journalism might better become more transparently partisan, some readers might think his proposal “seems just nuts.” Similarly, his borrowing of a proposal for “deliberative polling”—leaving discussions of issues and nominations in the hands of 1,000 or so randomly selected yet representative participants—isn’t likely to be adopted any time soon. Yet the book has value in showing how much that ails America isn’t illegal or even unethical but systemic.
The diagnosis rings truer than the cures.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-226-31653-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Univ. of Chicago
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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