A concise, nuanced investigation of contesting definitions of the American dream.
A professor examines the thematic use of the American dream in speeches, books, and film.
When it was first released in 1946, Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life was labeled by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI as “Communist propaganda” due to its depiction of the greedy, coldhearted slumlord and banker Henry Potter. In the 1980s, the memorably wholesome film was described by one critic as the “perfect film for the Reagan era.” This paradoxical interpretation of It’s a Wonderful Life, argues author Shaviro, represents competing definitions of the American dream, in particular the historic conflict between market meritocracy versus egalitarianism. Analyzing the rhetoric of high-profile U.S. politicians and ideologues, works of literature, and films, Shaviro explores these rival meanings of the American dream. Egalitarianism, he notes, focuses not just on equal opportunities, but on “ex post economic outcomes,” while the meritocratic view assumes that “winners and losers are not equal after all” and that, ultimately, the more deserving rich “owe the poor nothing.” A professor of taxation at NYU Law School whose previous publications have centered on literature and inequality, Shaviro has a firm command over both U.S. economic policy and pop culture, and his analysis of the contested American dream explores a diverse raft of books, from The Great Gatsby (1925) to Atlas Shrugged (1957), and films, from The Searchers (1956) to The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). The book also includes a sophisticated analysis of the ways in which “White solidarity has frequently proved powerful enough to outweigh economic and class concerns,” as evidenced in American books and films as well as in the speeches of politicians like Donald Trump. It concludes with a convincing, if pessimistic, assessment of 21st-century racism, economic inequality, and conservative backlash. Backed by an impressive bibliography, this is a well-researched book that carefully balances a scholarly writing style with engaging anecdotes from popular movies and books. Its efforts at making academic writing more accessible are bolstered by its brevity.
A concise, nuanced investigation of contesting definitions of the American dream.Pub Date: June 14, 2022
ISBN: 9781839983825
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Anthem Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.
Greed, depravity, and serial murder in 1920s Oklahoma.
During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited. This vast wealth attracted the attention of unscrupulous whites who found ways to divert it to themselves by marrying Osage women or by having Osage declared legally incompetent so the whites could fleece them through the administration of their estates. For some, however, these deceptive tactics were not enough, and a plague of violent death—by shooting, poison, orchestrated automobile accident, and bombing—began to decimate the Osage in what they came to call the "Reign of Terror." Corrupt and incompetent law enforcement and judicial systems ensured that the perpetrators were never found or punished until the young J. Edgar Hoover saw cracking these cases as a means of burnishing the reputation of the newly professionalized FBI. Bestselling New Yorkerstaff writer Grann (The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, 2010, etc.) follows Special Agent Tom White and his assistants as they track the killers of one extended Osage family through a closed local culture of greed, bigotry, and lies in pursuit of protection for the survivors and justice for the dead. But he doesn't stop there; relying almost entirely on primary and unpublished sources, the author goes on to expose a web of conspiracy and corruption that extended far wider than even the FBI ever suspected. This page-turner surges forward with the pacing of a true-crime thriller, elevated by Grann's crisp and evocative prose and enhanced by dozens of period photographs.
Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-385-53424-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.
An insider’s chronicle of a pivotal presidential campaign.
Several months into the mounting political upheaval of Donald Trump’s second term and following a wave of bestselling political exposés, most notably Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s Original Sin on Joe Biden’s health and late decision to step down, former Vice President Harris offers her own account of the consequential months surrounding Biden’s withdrawal and her swift campaign for the presidency. Structured as brief chapters with countdown headers from 107 days to Election Day, the book recounts the campaign’s daily rigors: vetting a running mate, navigating back-to-back rallies, preparing for the convention and the debate with Trump, and deflecting obstacles in the form of both Trump’s camp and Biden’s faltering team. Harris aims to set the record straight on issues that have remained hotly debated. While acknowledging Biden’s advancing decline, she also highlights his foreign-policy steadiness: “His years of experience in foreign policy clearly showed….He was always focused, always commander in chief in that room.” More blame is placed on his inner circle, especially Jill Biden, whom Harris faults for pushing him beyond his limits—“the people who knew him best, should have realized that any campaign was a bridge too far.” Throughout, she highlights her own qualifications and dismisses suggestions that an open contest might have better served the party: “If they thought I was down with a mini primary or some other half-baked procedure, I was quick to disabuse them.” Facing Trump’s increasingly unhinged behavior, Harris never openly doubts her ability to confront him. Yet she doesn’t fully persuade the reader that she had the capacity to counter his dominance, suggesting instead that her defeat stemmed from a lack of time—a theme underscored by the urgency of the book’s title. If not entirely sanguine about the future, she maintains a clear-eyed view of the damage already done: “Perhaps so much damage that we will have to re-create our government…something leaner, swifter, and much more efficient.”
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781668211656
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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