At first glance it seems as if Packer is simply documenting the change that took place as the social order of the Roosevelt republic gradually collapsed. But as this book progresses, it becomes apparent that a very pertinent question is being asked: What common bond do those who are ostensibly held together by an idea of American democracy actually share? It's a question the author doesn't definitively answer, but in his quest to find out, a few home truths are discovered. Through his nuanced style of literary journalism, Packer portrays the complexities behind an argument most readers will be familiar with ... Packer's strength as a storyteller lies in his ability to marshal a diverse range of voices from across the class divide, in a nation deeply divided by social status. But the scattered nature of the narrative... means it inevitably lacks a sense of continuity and feels slightly long-winded for what it has to say. Moreover, the very brief biographical sketches Packer drops in every few chapters... ironically steers the book in a direction it otherwise tries to avoid, since Packer is clearly passing judgment on elements of American culture that have evolved since the late 1970s. When he tells us how gangster rap is eroding America's principles, his tone becomes slightly elitist ... Despite The Unwinding's minor flaws, the book is a fitting reminder of the paradox of democracy in America, where ideas that are seemingly sacrosanct can be eroded and replaced within a generation.

... a gripping narrative survey of contemporary America ... This is a book of nearly pure narrative, and [Packer's] meanings are embedded in the way he portrays people, those he likes (outsiders) and those he doesn’t (bankers, the political class). There are some passages of outright analysis in this book to show that America is 'unwinding,' that the structures of everyday life are crumbling, that the nation’s leaders have 'abandoned their posts,' that the void has been filled with 'the default force in American life, organized money.' But I doubt the analytic passages together would fill more than a few ­pages of this 434-page book. The stories that do fill its ­pages are beautifully reported ... To repeat, Packer does an outstanding job with these stories. The Unwinding offers vivid snapshots of people who have experienced a loss of faith. As a way of understanding contemporary America, these examples are tantalizing. But they are also frustrating. The book is supposed to have social, economic and political implications, but there is no actual sociology, economics or political analysis in it ... I wish Packer had married his remarkable narrative skills to more evidence and research, instead of just relying on narrative alone. Combine data to lives as they are actually lived ... Packer’s work has no rigorous foundation to rely on, no ideology to give it organization and shape. But the lack of a foundational theory of history undermines the explanatory power of The Unwinding, just as it undermines the power and effectiveness of modern politics more generally.

... ambitious ... a fascinating hybrid ... Packer, an economical and often elegant writer, interweaves these stories, told in short takes, with reporting on distinctive American locales ... a richly complex narrative brew ... Don't read The Unwinding expecting either grand epiphanies or nuts-and-bolts solutions to America's problems — only graceful writing and modest faith that a few dreamers and strivers among us may lead the way to a better future.

The Unwinding’ is perhaps New Yorker writer George Packer’s worst nonfiction book. That is, however, not hugely insulting. Packer’s 2005 book The Assassins’ Gate’ still stands as a fantastic chronicle of America’s descent into Iraq. A 2000 book called Blood of the Liberals’ that he wrote is nearly as impressive. But The Unwinding,’ while well-written, intelligent, and frequently engaging, falls short of those achievements ... it must be said, there is nothing in these pages that equals the power of Barbara Garson’s Down the Up Escalator.’ That work, released in April, is also an account of lives devastated by the Great Recession. But it doesn’t have the fatal flaw of The Unwinding’: useless interludes telling of the one-percenters on the winning end of the age of inequality ... The Unwinding’ is compelling at times, but it won’t tell Americans much that they do not already know. And it could have. Coming from a writer of Packer’s immense talent, it cannot be evaluated as anything other than a disappointment.

Few of Packer's characters are easily categorised as Democrats or Republicans, hopeful or despairing, or winners or losers, which helps make their stories absorbing ... Packer subscribes to the American journalistic doctrine that the reporter must never appear in the narrative, and his absence is sometimes distracting ... But it is a testament to Packer's talents that The Unwinding is powerful, rather than off-puttingly earnest or just depressing, and that it lingers so long after reading.

What distinguishes The Unwinding is the fullness of Packer's portraits, his willingness to show his subjects' human desires and foibles, and to give each of his subjects a fully throated voice ... like a good novelist, Packer isn't willing to fit people into types ... in the end The Unwinding, is a book that manages to be both sad and uplifting, much like the turbulent times it describes.

... well-written ... While much stronger in describing effects rather than analyzing causes, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America arrives just in time for a long-overdue assessment of just how well Washington advances or frustrates the dreams of Tammy Thomas, Dean Price, or any of the rest of us ... [Packer's] new book is troubling enough to crowd mourners’ benches all across the nation.

... [the book] combines deep research with compelling, almost novelistic narrative ... One effect of Packer's strategy of telling a huge and complex story through the voices of individuals is that it has resounding emotional impact: The Unwinding is likely to make you angry, whatever your politics may be.

Packer’s repetitive structure—a chapter on Tammy followed by one on Tampa followed by other pieces—hammers home the point that all is not well in America and not likely to get better soon ... Exemplary journalism that defines a sobering, even depressing matter. A foundational document in the literature of the end of America—the end, that is, for the moment.

Brief biographies of seminal figures that shaped the current state of affairs offer the book’s fiercest prose ... Packer has a keen eye for the big story in the small moment, writing about our fraying social fabric with talent that matches his dismay.