On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense

English language

ISBN:: 978-0-7432-2739-1

(1 review)

On Paradise Drive is the second book written by conservative New York Times commentator David Brooks, released four years after his first book, Bobos in Paradise. Using a similar style, his second work seeks to make a connection between the oft-maligned material strivings of middle-class Americans and a more profound focus on one's future, which he believes to be deeply ingrained in American society.

1 edition

Sean Bala reviewed On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense by Brooks, David

Review of 'On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

This book thinks it is far cleverer than it actually is. The book promises to be a sort of "anthropological" study of the American middle class and tries to make the argument that the defining feature of American identity is an obsessive looking to the promise of the future. I don't disagree with the general idea. I actually like David Brooks and am sympathetic to some of his arguments about politics. However, I feel that the view expressed here of Americans is very outdated and only reflects a particular type of American. What sets me off about the book is that it attempts to be funny and tongue-in-cheek about its subject. I find the wise-ass routine here to be really grating. This could be seen as an artifact of America in the early 2000s but its not earth shattering by any means and is one of those books that should …

This book thinks it is far cleverer than it actually is. The book promises to be a sort of "anthropological" study of the American middle class and tries to make the argument that the defining feature of American identity is an obsessive looking to the promise of the future. I don't disagree with the general idea. I actually like David Brooks and am sympathetic to some of his arguments about politics. However, I feel that the view expressed here of Americans is very outdated and only reflects a particular type of American. What sets me off about the book is that it attempts to be funny and tongue-in-cheek about its subject. I find the wise-ass routine here to be really grating. This could be seen as an artifact of America in the early 2000s but its not earth shattering by any means and is one of those books that should be forgotten quickly. Books like Collin Woodard's "American Nations" and "American Character" are much better at capturing the diversity of American identity.