A sensible, bipartisan analysis of the future of a major segment of American society.
A diagnosis of American middle-class woes and a hopeful blueprint for its revival.
The embattlement of the middle class has, more than ever, become a recurrent theme in political discourse, especially since the catastrophic housing crisis of 2008. Moon (The Beltway Beast, 2014), a businessman and former financial-industry executive, attributes the group’s distress to a combination of stagnant wages and aggressively climbing costs, including those of health care, education, and an endless litany of taxes. Not content to gloomily dwell on bad news, the author finds promising reasons for hope, as well. For example, he notes that although women continue to lag behind their male counterparts in wages, that gap is steadily closing; their participation in the labor force continues to increase, and they constitute a bigger share of college graduates than ever before. And although it’s become commonplace to pillory millennials for their immaturity, Moon instead sees a savvy class of political entrepreneurs, ready and able to challenge the status quo. Finally, he asserts that the breakneck pace of technological progress is not only going to usher in new opportunity and a dramatic lowering of costs across the board, but also has the potential to transform the very structure of the economy, especially regarding health care: “A new paradigm shift is underway where decentralized and sharing models with emphasis on personal accountability is [sic] evolving that will make healthcare accessible and affordable for all.” The author plots out some sensible, if less-than-detailed, reforms, some of them economic, such as tax reform, and some of them political, such as revised term limits for politicians. It’s a thoughtful, lucid study, and it’s refreshing to see an unflinching discussion of the middle-class difficulties that doesn’t surrender to fatalistic despair. Sometimes Moon even seems too optimistic; for instance, he doesn’t address the ways in which increased technological sophistication could hurt the middle class, as whole professions get replaced by machines. Ultimately, the discussion of possible future reforms is simply too broad, and the book ambitiously covers too much ground for such a relatively slim volume. However, as a brief primer on the state of the middle class, this is a valuable contribution to public debate.
A sensible, bipartisan analysis of the future of a major segment of American society.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9913721-6-4
Page Count: 190
Publisher: MGN Books
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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