An optimistic view of the ways in which the human desire to be respected by one’s peers can bring about revolutions, topple...
A solid, sweeping examination of peer pressure as a force for social change.
New York Times Magazine contributor Rosenberg, whose The Haunted Land: Facing Europe’s Ghosts After Communism (1996) won both a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, looks at how a variety of difficult problems around the world have been solved through peer pressure, a phenomenon that she calls “the social cure.” People care what their peers think of them, writes the author, and this fact can be employed to bring about desirable changes in a society. Rosenberg relates how a number of different architects of the social cure developed their strategies and challenged an undesirable status quo. She focuses heavily on Otpor, a group-led student movement in Serbia that fought against widespread passivity by making activism attractive to young people and eventually succeeded in removing Slobodan Milosevic from power. Since then, Otpor’s leaders have taught their methods in other countries and helped bring about revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia. The author also examines loveLife, an AIDS-prevention campaign in South Africa that reached teenagers by being hip and fun; a smoking-prevention program that recognized American teens’ rebellious urges and directed them toward cigarette advertisements; a club-based program that helped black college students work together and improve their scores in calculus courses; and peer-based programs in San Francisco and New York that focus on helping convicts reenter society or deterring at-risk youth from joining gangs. Given these successes, can the social cure be effective in reducing acts of terrorism? Rosenberg looks at some controversial programs in England that are operating inside mosques to reach alienated young Muslim men and de-radicalize them before they become violent. Finally, the author, who has lived in Mexico, outlines a program that demonstrates how peer pressure might be used both inside and outside government to reduce corruption in that country. An appendix provides further information about organizations profiled in the book.
An optimistic view of the ways in which the human desire to be respected by one’s peers can bring about revolutions, topple dictatorships and perhaps produce a safer world.Pub Date: March 28, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-393-06858-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Less a sequel than an addendum, the book offers a close-up view of the Oval Office in its darkest hour.
Four decades after Watergate shook America, journalist Woodward (The Price of Politics, 2012, etc.) returns to the scandal to profile Alexander Butterfield, the Richard Nixon aide who revealed the existence of the Oval Office tapes and effectively toppled the presidency.
Of all the candidates to work in the White House, Butterfield was a bizarre choice. He was an Air Force colonel and wanted to serve in Vietnam. By happenstance, his colleague H.R. Haldeman helped Butterfield land a job in the Nixon administration. For three years, Butterfield worked closely with the president, taking on high-level tasks and even supervising the installation of Nixon’s infamous recording system. The writing here is pure Woodward: a visual, dialogue-heavy, blow-by-blow account of Butterfield’s tenure. The author uses his long interviews with Butterfield to re-create detailed scenes, which reveal the petty power plays of America’s most powerful men. Yet the book is a surprisingly funny read. Butterfield is passive, sensitive, and dutiful, the very opposite of Nixon, who lets loose a constant stream of curses, insults, and nonsensical bluster. Years later, Butterfield seems conflicted about his role in such an eccentric presidency. “I’m not trying to be a Boy Scout and tell you I did it because it was the right thing to do,” Butterfield concedes. It is curious to see Woodward revisit an affair that now feels distantly historical, but the author does his best to make the story feel urgent and suspenseful. When Butterfield admitted to the Senate Select Committee that he knew about the listening devices, he felt its significance. “It seemed to Butterfield there was absolute silence and no one moved,” writes Woodward. “They were still and quiet as if they were witnessing a hinge of history slowly swinging open….It was as if a bare 10,000 volt cable was running through the room, and suddenly everyone touched it at once.”
Less a sequel than an addendum, the book offers a close-up view of the Oval Office in its darkest hour.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1644-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2015
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