52 in 1: A Year in Books

Why We Hate Us by Dick Meyer

Yeah, this one killed me last year.

I started it with only a few days left to reach 52 books, and this would've been it. By all counts, it was a great choice: conversational in tone, slim, a mix of pop culture and politics. After the recent (more/less rewarding) slog through The Inheritance, I wanted to read a lighter book on political theory and thought this would be it. At first glance, I expected sarcasm, humor and some serious talking points.

What I got was diatribe, vitriol and some serious talking points. This didn't really make me want to push to the finish line.

That and, the day after I started it, I found out Mandy was pregnant. News like that will stop any project cold, even at the endgame.

So I didn't get to 52 books last year, and this was the one that slowed me down just enough (we're talking a chapter-length from finishing).

I gave loaned this one to a friend, Matt Griffin, and he didn't make it through. Too mean, too many societal problems without solutions. I feel the same way.

Dick Meyer had a great idea, and the premise - why Americans are induling in a sort of European self-hate when their's is a great, if flawed, country - is sound. Unfortunately, the execution is bogged down in a lot of anger at the problems (and why they exist), wiht the "solutions" chapter a meager offering at best.

If you're a fan of Dick Meyer, and he isn't a bad writer, or want to explore the question behind the title (why do we hate us?), visit your local library before hitting up the bookstore or Amazon.

-Erik