RaveNew York Journal of Books\"This collection meanders in topic, being drawn from various articles and speeches from the past five or so years, but there are three major threads in its warp: the future of the planet, the state of public discourse, and Franzen himself ... The fact remains that Jonathan Franzen is a hell of a writer. No matter what demographic identity or social connections have buoyed his career, it’s impossible to honestly say that his ubiquity on bookstore shelves isn’t due, mostly, to his breadth of thought and talent for expression ... He commands a prosaic muscle as astonishing as Usain Bolt’s hundred-meter dash, and that is why we read him—casual offenses, chauvinism, and bird flu notwithstanding.\
