Light reading on often heavy topics.
A collection of short essays about American subcultures by New York Times Magazine contributor Denizet-Lewis (America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life, 2009).
The author first gained recognition for his front-page feature in NYTM about black males in the “down low” culture—masculine, closeted men who indulge their taste for gay sex through secret societies. The full article is included here and supplemented by a shorter piece on white men who have attempted to join the club in recent years. A gay man who looks and dresses younger than his age, the author used these particular traits to gain access to honest interviews from people in a range of off-center groups, ranging from wildly successful preteen extreme athletes to self-proclaimed lipstick lesbians. The book is divided into two sections of eight chapters each, “Youth” and “Sex,” though these themes frequently appear in tandem, as in the essay on the plight of gay homeless youth in San Francisco. The book is similar in intent to Susan Orlean’s The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup (2001), but Denizet-Lewis lacks Orlean’s provocative blend of distance, commentary and wit. The writing style is adequate but does not dazzle, and the author spends too much space on some topics—such as the recent crackdown on drinking in fraternities—at the expense of other subjects that could use more depth of analysis. Although Denizet-Lewis doesn’t fulfill his promise to throw wide the doors on secret, largely sexual subjects, there is enough of the underground and the subversive to pique the casual reader’s interest. Perhaps one of the author’s goals is to show how ordinary many of his supposedly extreme interviewees can be in conversation, which makes the peculiarity of their respective situations seem decidedly less strange. This motivation is a demonstration of integrity in journalism, but it tends to deflate the voyeuristic pleasure for the reader.
Light reading on often heavy topics.Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4165-3915-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A heartfelt if somewhat unsurprising view of old age by the former president. Carter (Living Faith, 1996, etc.) succinctly evaluates the evolution and current status of federal policies concerning the elderly (including a balanced appraisal of the difficulties facing the Social Security system). He also meditates, while drawing heavily on autobiographical anecdotes, on the possibilities for exploration and intellectual and spiritual growth in old age. There are few lightning bolts to dazzle in his prescriptions (cultivate family ties; pursue the restorative pleasures of hobbies and socially minded activities). Yet the warmth and frankness of Carter’s remarks prove disarming. Given its brevity, the work is more of a call to senior citizens to reconsider how best to live life than it is a guide to any of the details involved.
Pub Date: Oct. 26, 1998
ISBN: 0-345-42592-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998
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