For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Mark Larson’s new book, Working in the 21st Century, pays the most sincere form of tribute to Studs Terkel’s remarkable oral history Working, published fifty years ago. It not only emphasizes the impact of the earlier text but continues its efforts to provide a space for those “who are not often handed a microphone … Read more
[ad_1] In the summer of 2017, when she was feeling particularly overloaded, Anna Funder returned to the work of George Orwell, a writer she had “always loved.” She hoped that by reading his analyses of “the tyrannies, the ‘smelly little orthodoxies’ of his time” she would be able “to liberate myself” and in particular to … Read more
[ad_1] The consumption of alcohol is falling, particularly amongst the young. Despite the persistent image of college life as four years of intoxication interrupted by occasional classes, 28% of 18-to-22 year-old American students do not drink. Amongst those who do not attend university, the figure is 30%. The pattern is repeated across high-income countries, with … Read more
[ad_1] It will surprise few readers of contemporary fiction to learn that George Saunders’ new collection of short stories, Liberation Day, is very good indeed. At this stage, reviews can only confirm his talent, not reveal it, and should consequently focus on other issues. Once one has established that Liberation Day is as good as … Read more
[ad_1] In the past two decades, there has been a resurgence in the use of the word “feminist,” which now appears on t-shirts, in the titles of best-selling nonfiction, and in interviews with politicians, executives, and celebrities in a way that would have been all but unthinkable in the late twentieth century, with its vapid … Read more
[ad_1] The subtitle of Christine Emba’s Rethinking Sex: A Provocation is revealing yet misjudged. The description tells us a lot about Emba’s understanding of her own work but does not accurately describe the book, which frustrates rather than provokes. The issue is not just that its conclusion, that the “best sexual world is perhaps a … Read more
[ad_1] As of January 25, 2022, the coronavirus has killed more than 800,000 Americans. More will die before it is brought under control. For frontline workers in particular, the pandemic has been a dangerous, stressful period, characterized by what seem to be difficult choices but are often not choices at all. They continue to return … Read more
[ad_1] Tabitha Lasley’s new memoir is built upon a flawed premise. When she explains her plan to travel to Aberdeen and talk with offshore workers to discover “what men are like with no women around,” her editor points out “you’ll be around.” One of the men Lasley interviews responds to the same explanation of the … Read more