Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It was a journey reading this book, but worth the time. Most of us have a poor understanding of economics and capitalism. We grew up getting by, participating in our own culture, work, and family. We hardly noticed that we are living in a time of extreme political economics and political capitalism. Kurt Andersen has written a wonderfully useful book to educate us about the unmaking of America. The main subject of the book is the excessive power granted to big business starting in the 1970s. The book provides detailed information on free-market political economics in America and the many evil geniuses that made it happen. Andersen explains how our downfall began with a complete restructuring of our political economy. Topics such as supply-side economics, tax cuts, deregulation, anti-trust enforcement, labor, law, and everything imaginable to benefit the rich and big business. Those in control told us that big business and greed are good, big government is bad. The theme of nostalgia and cultural nostalgia was woven throughout the book illustrating how we long for the past, and what nostalgia does to us by shaping our present. The review of history from the 1960s to the present made me think: where was I when all this happened. I like most people have been ideologically inconsistent and ignorant of what was happening to our economy. Read this book to find out what we missed the past 40 years and to see how things have come together looking back through history. I especially liked Part One - A Brief History of America through the 1960s. The 1970s and 1980s are discussed in much detail with background information and quotes from the evil geniuses that led us astray. The conclusion of the book is simply: do we move forward toward a better more equitable society or do we remain in some sort of stasis. Hopefully, the pendulum will start to move from the right to the center. 388 pages of text; plus, introduction, bibliography, and an especially useful index. Recommended.