An emerging cult classic about America's cultural meltdown―and a surprising solution. A prophetic examination of Western decline; The Twilight of American Culture provides one of the most caustic and surprising portraits of American society to date. Whether examining the corruption at the heart of modern politics; the "Rambification" of popular entertainment; or the collapse of our school systems; Morris Berman suspects that there is little we can do as a society to arrest the onset of corporate Mass Mind culture. Citing writers as diverse as de Toqueville and DeLillo; he cogently argues that cultural preservation is a matter of individual conscience; and discusses how classical learning might triumph over political correctness with the rise of a "a new monastic individual"―a person who; much like the medieval monk; is willing to retreat from conventional society in order to preserve its literary and historical treasures. "Brilliantly observant; deeply thoughtful ....lucidly argued."―Christian Science Monitor
#357465 in Books Sophie Pinkham 2016-11-01 2016-11-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.60 x 1.10 x 6.60l; .0 #File Name: 039324797X304 pagesBlack Square Adventures in Post Soviet Ukraine
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Articulate; personal perspective on fascinating and complex eventsBy Julian GrahamFull of personal color and written with a photographer's eye for detail; Black Square reads like a long letter from a brilliant friend. As an American; Ms. Pinkham's observer status leads her to frame the events leading up to Euromaidan intelligibly for readers (like me) without a strong background in Eastern European politics; at the same time; her work experience with people at the margins of Ukrainian society gives her credible perspective and access to personalities by turns wry; cynical; hopeful; and almost always sympathetic. In acknowledging the complexity of a political situation in which some actors are doing good things for frightening reasons - and others are explicitly manipulating the flow of information to suit their purposes - it would be easy for the author to yield to a sort of relativistic helplessness. Instead; there's a broad stripe of humanist empathy that runs through the entire book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy J. WassermanA sentimental but highly sober look at Russia and Ukraine from the ground level.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy KathyGreat combo of memoir; travelog; history. Well written
