RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewIn Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America, Ijeoma Oluo punches up rather than down, reckoning culturally, politically and historically with white men ... Oluo historicizes the creation of a violent and profane American white masculinity. Rooted in \'muscular Christianity,\' this conception of manliness, she ably demonstrates, also gave us American football ... Wide-ranging in the cultural history it provides, Mediocre illuminates the various ways white men work to maintain racial power. They abandon tough political positions when those positions undercut their ambition ... Oluo argues that all of us, \'regardless of demographic, have played a part in upholding white supremacy.\' It’s the one claim in this book that strains credulity, given the clarity with which Oluo shows how white men’s mediocrity — entitlement tethered to unearned power and accolades — makes life harder for everyone ... For many, this book will appear to be a closed fist, but for the keen eye, it is an open hand.
