A careful, well-informed examination of where the U.S. economy stands, how it got here, and where it needs to go.
An incisive study of how “the paradigm of globalization is now shifting.”
Globalization may have provided cheap consumer goods, notes Financial Times associate editor Foroohar, but there is an increasing awareness of the long-term costs. In her latest book, the author marshals an impressive range of knowledge to investigate the negative consequences of unquestioned globalization. The Covid-19 pandemic was a wake-up call to U.S. officials, revealing that the manufacture of even simple things such as cotton masks had been outsourced abroad, mainly to China. Fortunately, many American companies were able to structure their manufacturing processes to provide some of the needed goods. As Foroohar demonstrates, this revealed both the weaknesses and strengths of the U.S. economy. She accepts that globalization made many things cheaper for consumers, but she is realistic about the cost in the loss of jobs and resilience. At the same time, many companies have been cutting research-and-development spending and putting money into complex financial products—yet another example of short-sighted thinking. Much of the money and energy to support innovation has gone into the technology sector, and the result has been a “barbell economy” of big tech wealth and a “precariat” of low-paid service workers. However, Foroohar, who traveled the country as part of her research, sees an emerging generation of companies that have returned to making things in top-of-the-line factories that are making full use of 3-D printing and clever thinking. The author also sees a key role for government—not in splashing money around but in setting sensible trade rules and long-term objectives. Examining the industrial policies of other nations, Foroohar shares useful lessons. Ultimately, the pendulum has swung away from cut-price globalization toward more considered, localized perspectives. These are interesting, important views and ideas; hopefully, this book forms the basis of a new, cool-headed national discussion.
A careful, well-informed examination of where the U.S. economy stands, how it got here, and where it needs to go.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-24053-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer.
The comedian argues that the arts of moderation and common sense must be reinvigorated.
Some people are born snarky, some become snarky, and some have snarkiness thrust upon them. Judging from this book, Maher—host of HBO’s Real Time program and author of The New New Rules and When You Ride Alone, You Ride With bin Laden—is all three. As a comedian, he has a great deal of leeway to make fun of people in politics, and he often delivers hilarious swipes with a deadpan face. The author describes himself as a traditional liberal, with a disdain for Republicans (especially the MAGA variety) and a belief in free speech and personal freedom. He claims that he has stayed much the same for more than 20 years, while the left, he argues, has marched toward intolerance. He sees an addiction to extremism on both sides of the aisle, which fosters the belief that anyone who disagrees with you must be an enemy to be destroyed. However, Maher has always displayed his own streaks of extremism, and his scorched-earth takedowns eventually become problematic. The author has something nasty to say about everyone, it seems, and the sarcastic tone starts after more than 300 pages. As has been the case throughout his career, Maher is best taken in small doses. The book is worth reading for the author’s often spot-on skewering of inept politicians and celebrities, but it might be advisable to occasionally dip into it rather than read the whole thing in one sitting. Some parts of the text are hilarious, but others are merely insulting. Maher is undeniably talented, but some restraint would have produced a better book.
Maher calls out idiocy wherever he sees it, with a comedic delivery that veers between a stiletto and a sledgehammer.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781668051351
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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