An uneven examination of a topic that continues to require vigilant attention.
The renowned philosopher looks at the intersection of toxic male pride and sexual abuse and harassment.
Nussbaum explains that her latest book discusses legal technicalities to encourage fair judicial solutions: “So when you think that this text is abstract, please try to remember that it embodies a noble moral idea!” But much of the book is more journalistic than scholarly, and in a section on NCAA sports, the author sounds more like Bob Costas in a reflective mood than a public intellectual. Nussbaum fairly argues that sexual abuse involves “treating people as things,” which reflects overweening pride, and legal remedies such as “victim impact” statements can “taint a criminal trial with retributive overreach,” jeopardizing the process. The author clearly shows how toxic masculinity infects three “citadels of pride”—the federal judiciary, the performing arts, and the “diseased” world of college sports. Nussbaum perceptively notes, for example, that Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and James Levine were taken to task only when they were “too old and ill to make money for others any longer.” In her most controversial chapter, the author urges Division 1 colleges to limit the abuse by replacing their football and basketball programs with the kind of minor league teams that exist in baseball. Nussbaum’s sections on sports suggest that she’s strayed too far from philosophy to write with her usual aplomb. In those chapters, the writing is flatter, and her argument about college football doesn’t fully consider the vastly different situations between major programs like Alabama and Ohio State (many of which are unquestionably diseased) and smaller D-1 schools, where eliminating athletic scholarships could have negative consequences for students who are otherwise unable to attend college. Many readers, however, won’t care that this is not her best work: There’s a variety of insights to be gleaned from any Nussbaum book, and her comments here are sure to set sports-talk radio shows on fire in Tuscaloosa, Columbus, and beyond.
An uneven examination of a topic that continues to require vigilant attention.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-324-00411-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.
A warts-and-all portrait of the famed techno-entrepreneur—and the warts are nearly beyond counting.
To call Elon Musk (b. 1971) “mercurial” is to undervalue the term; to call him a genius is incorrect. Instead, Musk has a gift for leveraging the genius of others in order to make things work. When they don’t, writes eminent biographer Isaacson, it’s because the notoriously headstrong Musk is so sure of himself that he charges ahead against the advice of others: “He does not like to share power.” In this sharp-edged biography, the author likens Musk to an earlier biographical subject, Steve Jobs. Given Musk’s recent political turn, born of the me-first libertarianism of the very rich, however, Henry Ford also comes to mind. What emerges clearly is that Musk, who may or may not have Asperger’s syndrome (“Empathy did not come naturally”), has nurtured several obsessions for years, apart from a passion for the letter X as both a brand and personal name. He firmly believes that “all requirements should be treated as recommendations”; that it is his destiny to make humankind a multi-planetary civilization through innovations in space travel; that government is generally an impediment and that “the thought police are gaining power”; and that “a maniacal sense of urgency” should guide his businesses. That need for speed has led to undeniable successes in beating schedules and competitors, but it has also wrought disaster: One of the most telling anecdotes in the book concerns Musk’s “demon mode” order to relocate thousands of Twitter servers from Sacramento to Portland at breakneck speed, which trashed big parts of the system for months. To judge by Isaacson’s account, that may have been by design, for Musk’s idea of creative destruction seems to mean mostly chaos.
Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9781982181284
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.
The veteran newscaster reflects on her triumphs and hardships, both professional and private.
In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Couric (b. 1957) transforms the events of her long, illustrious career into an immensely readable story—a legacy-preserving exercise, for sure, yet judiciously polished and insightful, several notches above the fray of typical celebrity memoirs. The narrative unfolds through a series of lean chapters as she recounts the many career ascendency steps that led to her massively successful run on the Today Show and comparably disappointing stints as CBS Evening News anchor, talk show host, and Yahoo’s Global News Anchor. On the personal front, the author is candid in her recollections about her midlife adventures in the dating scene and deeply sorrowful and affecting regarding the experience of losing her husband to colon cancer as well as the deaths of other beloved family members, including her sister and parents. Throughout, Couric maintains a sharp yet cool-headed perspective on the broadcast news industry and its many outsized personalities and even how her celebrated role has diminished in recent years. “It’s AN ADJUSTMENT when the white-hot spotlight moves on,” she writes. “The ego gratification of being the It girl is intoxicating (toxic being the root of the word). When that starts to fade, it takes some getting used to—at least it did for me.” Readers who can recall when network news coverage and morning shows were not only relevant, but powerfully influential forces will be particularly drawn to Couric’s insights as she tracks how the media has evolved over recent decades and reflects on the negative effects of the increasing shift away from reliable sources of informed news coverage. The author also discusses recent important cultural and social revolutions, casting light on issues of race and sexual orientation, sexism, and the predatory behavior that led to the #MeToo movement. In that vein, she expresses her disillusionment with former co-host and friend Matt Lauer.
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53586-1
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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