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Home > ATLarts > Archives > 2008 > September > 18 > Entry

Thomas Franks wrecks “The Wrecking Crew”

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Author Thomas Frank will be at the Decatur Library at 7:15 p.m. tonight (Sept. 18) to talk about and sign his new book “The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule.”

What is “The Wrecking Crew?” So glad you asked. It’s the new best-seller by the author of “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” that explains how, in the words of Time magazine, “cynical conservatives have wrested control of the government by railing against its very existence, all while using federal perches to funnel billions into the pockets of lobbyists and the corporations they represent.”

Clearly, this is a book that peope will have very different opinions of, just as they do about the two anti-Barack Obama books that are also on the best-seller list right now.

Here are a few quotes about the book.

“His analysis of why there are so many libertarian think tanks in a country with so few libertarians is dead on. In Thomas Frank, the American left has found its own Juvenal.” — The New York Times Book Review

“Tom Frank has hold of something real. Frank captures a quality of exuberant bullying in those of his conservative subjects he knows well enough to identify individually, rather than categorically.”—The New Yorker

And another take, from an Amazon.com reviewer: “Problem with Frank is that he’s too blinded by love of his own side and blinded by hate for the other. So this book becomes one where everything that goes wrong is the problem of conservatives, while liberals are as pure as the driven snow. Any thinking person rejects this type of black and white approach. … Frank understands that righteous indignation sells. Being a good capitalist, Frank tarts this book up with all sorts of vitriol to get a rise out of the faithful and ensure brisk sales.”

Should be a spirited discussion this evening, to say the least.

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