Real-life perspectives on the immersive, unifying, and chancy culture of fraternities.
The author of Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities (2004) returns to campus to continue to sift through the realities and misconceptions of Greek life.
In this natural follow-up toPledged, investigative reporter and public speaker Robbins (The Nurses: A Year of Secrets, Drama, and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital, 2015, etc.) turns her attention to the often problematic, scandalized, and controversial fraternal brotherhoods. Hoping to demystify the negative public images these associations have historically generated, the author interviewed scores of young men both currently and formerly involved in Greek chapters. Through their experiences, Robbins explores the countless stereotypical complications of these groups. She presents often compelling profiles of men navigating the processes and pressures of rushing, pledging, and troubleshooting the hypermasculine fraternity culture and the rigid guidelines of collegiate social engagement. Refreshingly, the author never sugarcoats the intensive pledging process and addresses the prevalence of widespread racism, female objectification, and sexual assault within chapters all across the country. The book presents the experiences of men like Jake, a searching, introverted, socially timid freshman who “craved the bonds of a brotherhood”; Oliver, a chapter president eager to hone his leadership talents; and numerous other voices of those who pledged allegiance to their respective frat houses, with mixed results. Robbins astutely examines the stigma of hazing rituals, impulsive and stress-driven drinking patterns, and rigidly enforced house loyalties. Conversely, she highlights the more positive (and less-recognized) bonding and brotherhood benefits of fraternity participation and the prioritized importance of sorority relations. She also points out fraternal chapters that welcome more diverse members, including LGBTQ pledges. Though the narrative presents little that will be viewed as new or illuminating for any adult reader who attended college, much of the material will be useful and informative for college-prep students and their parents (a final section provides advice for both groups).
Real-life perspectives on the immersive, unifying, and chancy culture of fraternities.Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-101-98672-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
A forceful, necessarily provocative call to action for the preservation and protection of American Jewish freedom.
Known for her often contentious perspectives, New York Times opinion writer Weiss battles societal Jewish intolerance through lucid prose and a linear playbook of remedies.
While she was vividly aware of anti-Semitism throughout her life, the reality of the problem hit home when an active shooter stormed a Pittsburgh synagogue where her family regularly met for morning services and where she became a bat mitzvah years earlier. The massacre that ensued there further spurred her outrage and passionate activism. She writes that European Jews face a three-pronged threat in contemporary society, where physical, moral, and political fears of mounting violence are putting their general safety in jeopardy. She believes that Americans live in an era when “the lunatic fringe has gone mainstream” and Jews have been forced to become “a people apart.” With palpable frustration, she adroitly assesses the origins of anti-Semitism and how its prevalence is increasing through more discreet portals such as internet self-radicalization. Furthermore, the erosion of civility and tolerance and the demonization of minorities continue via the “casual racism” of political figures like Donald Trump. Following densely political discourses on Zionism and radical Islam, the author offers a list of bullet-point solutions focused on using behavioral and personal action items—individual accountability, active involvement, building community, loving neighbors, etc.—to help stem the tide of anti-Semitism. Weiss sounds a clarion call to Jewish readers who share her growing angst as well as non-Jewish Americans who wish to arm themselves with the knowledge and intellectual tools to combat marginalization and defuse and disavow trends of dehumanizing behavior. “Call it out,” she writes. “Especially when it’s hard.” At the core of the text is the author’s concern for the health and safety of American citizens, and she encourages anyone “who loves freedom and seeks to protect it” to join with her in vigorous activism.
A forceful, necessarily provocative call to action for the preservation and protection of American Jewish freedom.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-593-13605-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2019
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.
A highly instructive exploration of “current affairs and…the immediate future of human societies.”
Having produced an international bestseller about human origins (Sapiens, 2015, etc.) and avoided the sophomore jinx writing about our destiny (Homo Deus, 2017), Harari (History/Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) proves that he has not lost his touch, casting a brilliantly insightful eye on today’s myriad crises, from Trump to terrorism, Brexit to big data. As the author emphasizes, “humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers, or equations, and the simpler the story, the better. Every person, group, and nation has its own tales and myths.” Three grand stories once predicted the future. World War II eliminated the fascist story but stimulated communism for a few decades until its collapse. The liberal story—think democracy, free markets, and globalism—reigned supreme for a decade until the 20th-century nasties—dictators, populists, and nationalists—came back in style. They promote jingoism over international cooperation, vilify the opposition, demonize immigrants and rival nations, and then win elections. “A bit like the Soviet elites in the 1980s,” writes Harari, “liberals don’t understand how history deviates from its preordained course, and they lack an alternative prism through which to interpret reality.” The author certainly understands, and in 21 painfully astute essays, he delivers his take on where our increasingly “post-truth” world is headed. Human ingenuity, which enables us to control the outside world, may soon re-engineer our insides, extend life, and guide our thoughts. Science-fiction movies get the future wrong, if only because they have happy endings. Most readers will find Harari’s narrative deliciously reasonable, including his explanation of the stories (not actually true but rational) of those who elect dictators, populists, and nationalists. His remedies for wildly disruptive technology (biotech, infotech) and its consequences (climate change, mass unemployment) ring true, provided nations act with more good sense than they have shown throughout history.
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-51217-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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