Publishers Weekly
★ 07/01/2019
In this hilarious refereeing of the culture wars, former Time columnist Stein (Man Made) roams America studying wealthy, Ivy league–educated, conference-attending elites and their populist detractors. In Miami, Tex.—located in Roberts County, where 95.3% of the population voted for Trump—he finds not violent yahoos but friendly, thoughtful conservatives who nicely try to convert his Jewish-atheist soul to Christianity. At a Resistance party with Hollywood elites in L.A., he finds liberal dogmas even more rigid than Texan Baptists’ certitudes. And he fences with such “populist elites” as Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams and Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson as they disparage elite expertise in favor of Trump-ian gut instincts and nationalist allegiances. A halfhearted elitist himself, Stein makes a case against the epistemic anarchism of populists, conspiracy theorists, and antivaxxers, arguing that Americans need intellectual elites to run society—his hero is L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti, fixer of potholes and transit systems—and to protect individual rights. Stein’s excellent reportage keeps the ideology light andis full of one-liners—“elites feel the same way about college as non-elites do about church,” especially because “our church got us drunk and laid”—that generously skewer everyone. The result is an insightful, uproarious take on America’s political divide. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"With this indispensable book, Joel Stein firmly establishes himself as the Ted Nugent of elitism."— —Andy Borowitz, New York Times bestselling author and writer of The Borowitz Report
"Every paragraph of this book will make you laugh, but it will also (I promise) change the way you think. Joel has written a brilliant exploration of the supposed divide between elites and populists, cleverly disguised as a humorous personal excursion. Like Don Quixote he forays into perilous territory, his lance at his side, and what he finds will surprise you. Deeply reported and poignant, with a light touch of sweet self-awareness, his journey can help us all take our minds to a better place."— —Walter Isaacson, the New York Times bestselling author of Leonardo Da Vinci and Steve Jobs
"I can think of no one more suited to defend elitism than Stein, a funny man with hands as delicate as a baby full of soft-boiled eggs."— —Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
"[Stein] investigates the contemporary political landscape with a gimlet eye and plenty of humor in this deep dive into our cultural divide."— Town and Country
"In this hilarious refereeing of the culture wars, former Time columnist Stein roams
America studying wealthy, Ivy league-educated, conference-attending elites and their populist detractors...Stein's excellent reportage keeps the ideology light and is full of one-liners...that generously skew everyone. The result is an insightful, uproarious take on America's political divide."— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"With his smart,
self-deprecating humor, former Time columnist
Stein investigates the correlation between the rise of populism and the delegitimization of expertise... In a world that seems so fragile, Stein makes a witty case for trained and trustworthy people running it."— The National Book Review
"Joel Stein is a condescending bastard, but he's also very funny, insightful and correct. This book is a crucial argument for the importance of expertise in this world that increasingly rejects it. As Stein points out, it may feel good to go with the gut or follow popular opinion, but it does have its downsides. Like, for instance, causing a planetary apocalypse."— —AJ Jacobs, the New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically and The Know-It-All
"In these troubled times, we, as a nation, desperately need somebody to bring us together. Instead, we have Joel Stein, and this brilliantly funny book. So let's let somebody else unite us, while we let Joel Stein entertain the hell out of us."— —Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and bestselling author of Dave Barry Turns 40
"Joel Stein makes a case for elitism over populism, but,
contra what you might expect based on the subtitle, he does so without being condescending, without being smug...One of the most nuanced and introspective takes on populism post-2016 election, with Stein's typical humorous, easy to read style making the subject matter all the more accessible."— Washington Free Beacon
"How can someone be so erudite and so funny at the same time? Read this book, be deeply offended by how much you laugh, then get yourself a chili dog to cleanse your intellectual palate. Then read it again. It's hilarious."
— Aisha Tyler, comedian, actress, and New York Times bestselling author
"As a white male Yale grad from New England who now lives in New York City and works in media, I feel like this book was written just for me. However, I will allow Joel Stein to publish other copies and sell you one because it really is that good!"
— John Hodgman, New York Times bestselling author
Kirkus Reviews
2019-07-21
The rise of populism inspired a journalist's search for answers.
Former Time staff writer and columnist Stein (Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity, 2012) brings wit, irreverence, and considerable thoughtfulness to a timely issue: the rise of anti-elitism in politics, science, education, and many other areas that privilege knowledge and expertise. "Elites are people who think; populists are people who believe," he writes. "Elites defer to experts; populists listen to their own guts. Elites value cooperation; populists are tribal." To help elites turn back the populist trend, the author decided to investigate what populists want, why they think as they do, and how elites can maintain and defend their authority in a changing world. His search took him to Miami, Texas, a town of about 600 residents, more than 95 percent of them Trump voters. As he expected, they own guns, are faithful congregants of the First Baptist Church, and take every opportunity "to delegitimize expertise." The Miamians think that hyphenated Americans only inflame racial and ethnic conflict. "Elites may have not caused racism," they contend, "but they've magnified racial tensions, in the same way that abolitionists exacerbated our nation's problem with slavery." They trust one another but not their country. "They're living in a remote tribal island," Stein concludes, "untouched by the last thirty years." Yet, they welcomed the author—a journalist and a Jew—warmly. Stein's research also took him to elite conferences, where, he discovered, "the elite dream, is not to own a yacht but to give a TED talk." Among Stein's interviewees are FOX political commentator Tucker Carlson, who rants against diversity, and "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams, who has bought into the "primordial masculinity" of populism, along with its conspiracy theories. Stein repeatedly—and persuasively—makes a case for expertise. "The world seems fragile and I want trustworthy, trained people running it," he writes. As for the "Intellectual Elites" who do, precariously, run the world, he offers a word of advice: respect. Listen without judging or mocking; negotiate with empathy.
A wise perspective on America's cultural divide.
