THE AMERICAN HOUR

A heartfelt and perceptive analysis of what Guinness (Visiting Fellow/The Brookings Institute; The Gravedigger File, 1983, etc.- -not reviewed) sees as the cultural crisis facing America today. Americans, says Guinness, view their country as much as a sacred creed as a physical place—but this creed, he contends, is dividing the nation much as slavery divided it during the Civil War. ``At a certain point,'' Guinness says, ``the dissolution of faith's authority and disappearance of any positive force for truth and goodness turns into a high-density, negative, and devouring force for evil—in short, nihilism.'' The author outlines the breakdown during the 60's of the previous decade's cultural consensus, and the reaction to this breakdown—selfishness and unproductive greed—during the 70's and 80's, calling for a reforged covenant, ``a modern form of `federal liberty' that combines the best, and avoids the worst, of the libertarian and communitarian visions.'' Guinness's blend of erudition—he quotes sources from Paul ValÇry to The Congressional Record—and insight are thought-provoking: He suggests, for instance, that the radicalism of the 60's was not so much a reaction to conservatism as a response to the failure and illusions of mainstream liberalism. Guinness vividly portrays the anomic state of the nation today and projects the future role of religion. But ``this is not a how-to book,'' he notes. Quite so: His brief prescriptive remarks, gathered under the rubrics of ``remembrance,'' ``repentance,'' ``resolution,'' ``responsibility,'' and ``realism,'' are unconvincing. At best, a sophisticated analysis of a very real crisis, and an earnest plea for America to face some home truths; at worst, an experience akin to suffering from the blur of a 350-page Op-Ed piece.