Issue No.
51
January 2012
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| Welcome to December’s review of books |
 Tim Black
With the US presidential election looming next year, it’s fair to say that things are not looking good for the current incumbent, Barack Obama. The economy is struggling, unemployment remains high, and Washington seems to be right out of political leadership. Yet, as Sean Collins argues in this month’s spiked review of books, critics of the flailing Obama administration are offering little in return. Too often, he notes, rather than seriously confront the profound political and economic crisis in which we find ourselves, critics - be they trendy Occupiers or gossip-seeking journalists - opt instead for cheap conspiracy-mongering and shallow anti-banker prejudice. This is getting us nowhere fast. We also have Jennie Bristow enjoying Susan Jacoby’s myth-exploding take on contemporary old age; Dr Michael Fitzpatrick in conversation with James Le Fanu, the one-time scourge of the medical establishment; Neil Davenport on pop culture’s retromania; Daniel Ben-Ami on lies, damned lies and social-inequality statistics; and much more. [Cover illustration by Jan Bowman.] |
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