Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Brill’s is one of a gazillion recent books that addresses the question, what happened to America? That it’s broken, we all know, even if we don’t always admit it to ourselves. This book, however, really is different. Brill is one of the few authors who has the legal and financial expertise to really get it right. And that he does. The problem is not social, political, racial, or patriarchal (although the latter two are real problems that must be addressed). The problem is economic. In short, the new American aristocracy are the wealthy who continue to elevate themselves above the rest of society financially and who have successfully dug moats around themselves and their children to protect their elite status. It is, in my own words, the commercialization of America. The wealthy in America have successfully constructed a false meritocracy where ‘merit without means’ has grown increasingly difficult. Class mobility, as a result, has declined and fewer and fewer of our youth can expect to live better than their parents. It’s the universal law of unintended consequences. We replaced the old-boy, inherited wealth aristocracy with a true meritocracy. The meritorious among us, however, used their newfound mobility to create a world where class mobility has been commercialized. The children of the already wealthy, as a result, who have access to private schools, tutors, SAT prep classes, violin lessons, and the latest technology, have a material advantage in climbing their own ladder of merit. What distinguishes Brill’s book is that he works harder than most authors on providing solutions, or at least finding and revealing people and institutions who have already made a difference (no, not Trump) and who offer a template for moving forward. Brill is informed across a wide spectrum of topics. He is, first and foremost, however, a journalist and it shows. The prose is easy to read but always backed up with plenty of data. At times, perhaps, just a tad too much. But that’s okay. He, more than most, makes it clear why we are all so disillusioned. This book will make you mad. And it should. Our politicians are dialing for dollars while Washington burns. And Brill has the connections and the writing skills to bring the heat into your living room. A very good book that no one will want to pick up a second time. But that’s okay. Sometimes we need a good whack to make sure we’re still awake.