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The Holistic Manifesto

Name: The Holistic Manifesto
Author: E.P. Anthony
ISBN: 9781483455099

CENTRE-LEFT POLICIES FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

by E.P. Anthony ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 2, 2016

An impressively sober and fair-minded analysis.

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A comprehensive center-left political platform that addresses the worsening problem of economic inequality.

Inequality is perennially a hot topic, but debates about it reached a fever pitch during the recent election season. Debut author and economist Anthony argues that inequality could potentially lead to electoral gains for a center-left political coalition, but a steady loss of constituent support has resulted instead. In this book, the author articulates a remarkably comprehensive program that includes a series of economic remedies and a campaign strategy. He begins with a brief synopsis of modern economic theory, featuring paragraph-length summaries of the work of such economic thinkers as Adam Smith and Milton Friedman. Then he explains the sources of inequality, noting that the Ronald Reagan/Margaret Thatcher revolution ushered in lowered tax rates, diminished welfare spending, resulted in wide-scale deregulation and privatization, and unleashed the forces of globalization. His recommendations are ambitiously thorough, covering everything from fiscal policy to food distribution. Problematically, this comprehensiveness results in a lack of rigorously considered detail; as the title suggests, this is a manifesto, not an academic white paper. Anthony could have cut a section that breezily covers philosophical arguments against inequality, which is both gratuitous and too intellectually slight to convince detractors. Also, the book acknowledges but insufficiently discusses some central economic problems; for instance, Anthony concedes that the concept of a living wage is vague, but he also recommends its institution without providing much guidance on the proper amount. Finally, some proposals are too controversial for just a few sentences of clarification; for example, the author suggests that media proprietors could be “directly targeted” and essentially threatened for more favorable coverage, and the efficacy, as well as the legitimacy, of such an aggressive approach is far from obvious. Still, this is an admirably nonpartisan account of the problem of inequality, especially given that its entire economic program is couched in a political platform. It should be edifying not only for readers who share Anthony’s politics, but also for those who are reflexively opposed to them.

An impressively sober and fair-minded analysis.

Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2016

ISBN: 9781483455099

Page Count: 249

Publisher: Lulu

Review Posted Online: Dec. 1, 2016

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.