Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism
Anne Case and Angus Deaton
Joseph Heller once said the effect he was striving for in his second novel, Something Happened, was for the reader to feel like a piece of metal banged into a new shape by the repeated blows of a ball-peen hammer.
I don’t recall feeling that way after reading the novel, but the far more than 400 blows delivered in this book Continue reading
Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American
Elite & The Way to a Meaningful Life
William Deresiewicz
Each of us has an Achilles’ heel, so I find no embarrassment in sharing mine: I’m a sucker for almost every form of biting the hand that feeds you. It’s comforting, somehow, to know that as operating modes go it’s an evergreen.
Admittedly, some corners of the world offer a safer refuge than others for hand-biting. As long as they Continue reading
An Honest Con 