RaveTIMEHer book makes the case so well, it leaves readers with the feeling that we should all be paying closer attention ... Although FitzGerald's coda on Donald Trump's victory has a tacked-on feel in an otherwise masterful narrative, her explanation of evangelical support for his campaign — which puzzled many — reads as essential. FitzGerald illuminates how a decades-long relationship between the Christian right and the Republican Party (later joined by the Tea Party) coalesced into what looks like a mutually inextricable bloc.
Jeffrey Toobin
PositiveTIME...while this tale is both well-known and insular (settings include a closet, a safe house and a jail), Toobin effectively positions it within the ’70s milieu, and that’s why it’s worth revisiting, no matter what you think of Hearst’s culpability ... Seeing Hearst as a prism for her era gets harder after her capture. The trial was always going to be less gripping to read about than her life on the run, notwithstanding Toobin’s legal expertise. And so the book’s momentum tapers, but perhaps for good reason: the lesson that Toobin draws from Hearst, about how privilege can affect justice, is, unfortunately, timeless.
Nancy Isenberg
PositiveTIMEIsenberg has written an important call for Americans to treat class with the same care that they now treat race ... Isenberg’s argument is convincing, but there are a few places where her information falls short of satisfying the curious reader. For example, she refers frequently to the stereotype that white-trash people are 'clay eaters'–but if that label is based in fact, as it seems to be, why would the phenomenon happen? (Perhaps people were driven by mineral deficiencies. I had to look that one up.) If questions about such details distract from the more important inquiries, that would be a shame. In the months since Isenberg would have finished writing this book, U.S. class divisions have become a central issue in the presidential election. Her work may well help that focus lead to progress.
Rebecca Traister
PositiveTIMEThe elephant in the chapel is that single women don’t necessarily stay single. Their numbers have grown largely because of marrying later, not ditching the institution. In fact, the option to wait, or totally opt out, may make marriage look better than ever. Traister (a married woman) doesn’t let that ruin her argument. Even if their singledom is transient, unmarried women 'are taking up space in a world that was not built for them'–and they’re ready to rebuild it.
Patricia Bell-Scott
PositiveTIME...occasionally feels fragmented, as Bell-Scott follows Murray from job to job, but it might do wonders for those feeling politically disenfranchised.
Geoffrey Cowan
PositiveTIMEIt’s a complicated story that Cowan keeps lively, mostly avoiding the he-said-he-said of old-timey politicking, but readers who dive in for a feel-good story of how Americans got to choose their parties’ nominees may end up depressed if enlightened.
