The Cracked Bell: America and the Afflictions of Liberty
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.69 (815 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1602397597 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-08-01 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
A poor book BWL As someone interested in the the culture and social make up of the the United States, I bought this book after reading its review in the Economist. The author claims to be a social anthropologist and has studied at Cambridge. As such, I looked forward to an enlightening read.However, after going through about half of the book, I had to put it down, as it is written in an off handed, anecdotal, descriptive manner, that contains almost no substantive anal. The Cracked Book EPCIII The Cracked Bell: America and the Afflictions of Liberty is the latest in a long series of books by foreign authors commenting on the American character. Dr. Tristram Riley-Smith examines what he claims to be seven paradoxes involving our distinctive yearning for liberty. The book is full of interesting statistics and vivid personal vignettes of those he has apparently encountered in his travels around the country.Unfortunately, parts of the book are we. This Book is Waste of Your Time Cousteou Have you ever wondered what social anthropologists actually do? Me neither. This book is probably one of the saddest pieces of intellectual work I have ever come across. I have now lived in the US for couple of years and my modest wish was to gain some insight to the current affairs here. I ended up disagreeing with almost every sentence. The whole book is just a poor collection of stereotypes which some Europeans and British people seem to have about t
He has lectured on the anthropology of art at the Smithsonian Institution and contributed to A Dictionary of Classical Reference in English Poetry, Travellers' Dictionary of Quotations and Macmillan's Encyclopaedia of Art. Tristram Riley-Smith worked as a journalist before going to Cambridge University, where he completed a PhD in social anthropology. He is married with three sons. In 2002, he took up a three-year posting t
In the end a sharp eye, lively pen and a training in anthropology help Mr Riley-Smith to paint a vivid, impressionistic picture of a society constantly pushed and pulled between contradictory impulses.” (The Economist) . “Engaging and ambitious
The twin concepts of liberty and the free market have been instrumental in shaping American identity. He touches upon big issues and examines America’s consumer culture, using recognizable icons like Martha Stewart, Giorgio Armani, artist Barbara Kruger, and Wal-Mart.The Cracked Bell is a timely, accessible exploration of the current finan-cial crisis and a hard look at the America of the twenty-first century. It’s a delightful, thoughtful, and necessary book that takes the reader headlong into the philosophies, icons, and institutions responsible for America’s troubles and what can be done about them.. For three years, he served in the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. Including President Obama’s election and initial stimulus package, Riley-Smith takes us on a whirlwind examination of America. With lively, insightful commentary, careful research, and illuminating personal anecdotes, Riley-Smith uses images like the cracked liberty bell to explain just where things went wrong, and how we can make them right. and traveled through-out the country and this outsider’s perspective offers an in-depth look at the state of American culture after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, toxic debts, and the credit crunch. Here, author Tristram Riley-Smith delves into how the perverting of these concepts has led to today’s economic crisis and id