An erudite analysis of Jamaica’s economic history.
A Jamaican scholar’s debut work analyzes the impact of neoliberalism on recent Jamaican history.
McKenzie, who was born and raised in Jamaica and is currently a doctoral student at Georgetown University, begins this work with an exceptionally useful primer on the history of his native country from the arrival of Christopher Columbus to later British imperialism, the World War II era, and decolonization. Jamaica, he says, is a capitalist nation “centered on a culture of servitude where tourism, hospitality, sports, and music are the main sources of income,” and the blame for its currently stagnant economy, he asserts, lies squarely with neoliberal policies, which focus on free market capitalism and deregulation—both inside the nation’s bureaucracy and its nominal Western allies’. Early chapters highlight how “neoliberal technocrats” forged a “Washington Consensus” inside Jamaica’s government that perpetuated, and even exacerbated, poverty for more than half a century. The book’s second half pays particular attention to how international events since the 1980s—from the elections of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher to the global ascendance of the Black Lives Matter movement—intersected with Jamaica’s economic and social history. The author gives the ideas of Pan-African thinkers, including Frantz Fanon, ample attention and analysis, as well as those of Black Nationalists, such as Jamaican Marcus Garvey, whom the author critiques for his “Fascist ideological roots” and embrace of “Western-style capitalism.” This well-researched, interdisciplinary volume makes its points in passionate and learned prose, and McKenzie shows an expert command of relevant scholarship by historians, economists, and social theorists. The tour de force narrative unfortunately wanes in its final chapter, which examines solutions to neoliberalism using references to the 2002 film Dirty Pretty Things—an anticlimactic ending that doesn’t meet the high bar set by the previous 10 chapters. Nonetheless, this book as a whole provides important commentary and critical context on its subject.
An erudite analysis of Jamaica’s economic history.Pub Date: May 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0578-89794-3
Page Count: 346
Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.
Words that made a nation.
Isaacson is known for expansive biographies of great thinkers (and Elon Musk), but here he pens a succinct, stimulating commentary on the Founding Fathers’ ode to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” His close reading of the Declaration of Independence’s second sentence, published to mark the 250th anniversary of the document’s adoption, doesn’t downplay its “moral contradiction.” Thomas Jefferson enslaved hundreds of people yet called slavery “a cruel war against human nature” in his first draft of the Declaration. All but 15 of the document’s 56 signers owned enslaved people. While the sentence in question asserted “all men are created equal” and possess “unalienable rights,” the Founders “consciously and intentionally” excluded women, Native Americans, and enslaved people. And yet the sentence is powerful, Isaacson writes, because it names a young nation’s “aspirations.” He mounts a solid defense of what ought to be shared goals, among them economic fairness, “moral compassion,” and a willingness to compromise. “Democracy depends on this,” he writes. Isaacson is excellent when explaining how Enlightenment intellectuals abroad influenced the founders. Benjamin Franklin, one of the Declaration’s “five-person drafting committee,” stayed in David Hume’s home for a month in the early 1770s, “discussing ideas of natural rights” with the Scottish philosopher. Also strong is Isaacson’s discussion of the “edits and tweaks” made to Jefferson’s draft. As recommended by Franklin and others, the changes were substantial, leaving Jefferson “distraught.” Franklin, who emerges as the book’s hero, helped establish municipal services, founded a library, and encouraged religious diversity—the kind of civic-mindedness that we could use more of today, Isaacson reminds us.
A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781982181314
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.
Portraits in a post-pandemic world.
After the Covid-19 lockdowns left New York City’s streets empty, many claimed that the city was “gone forever.” It was those words that inspired Stanton, whose previous collections include Humans of New York (2013), Humans of New York: Stories (2015), and Humans (2020), to return to the well once more for a new love letter to the city’s humanity and diversity. Beautifully laid out in hardcover with crisp, bright images, each portrait of a New Yorker is accompanied by sparse but potent quotes from Stanton’s interviews with his subjects. Early in the book, the author sequences three portraits—a couple laughing, then looking serious, then the woman with tears in her eyes—as they recount the arc of their relationship, transforming each emotional beat of their story into an affecting visual narrative. In another, an unhoused man sits on the street, his husky eating out of his hand. The caption: “I’m a late bloomer.” Though the pandemic isn’t mentioned often, Stanton focuses much of the book on optimistic stories of the post-pandemic era. Among the most notable profiles is Myles Smutney, founder of the Free Store Project, whose story of reclaiming boarded‑up buildings during the lockdowns speaks to the city’s resilience. In reusing the same formula from his previous books, the author confirms his thesis: New York isn’t going anywhere. As he writes in his lyrical prologue, “Just as one might dive among coral reefs to marvel at nature, one can come to New York City to marvel at humanity.” The book’s optimism paints New York as a city where diverse lives converge in moments of beauty, joy, and collective hope.
A familiar format, but a timely reminder that cities are made up of individuals, each with their own stories.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781250277589
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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