Product Description

In this radical account of the decline of twentieth-century American culture, Time art critic Robert Hughes insists that the politicization of almost every area of American culture has resulted in quarrelling, infighting, and a fall in the standards needed to hold such a diverse nation together. Based on a series of lectures sponsored by the New York Public Library and Oxford University Press, Culture of Complaint asserts that the melting pot of America has never melted, and that American mutuality has always existed in a recognition of differences. The blame for the fraying of the American sense of collectivity and mutual respect is laid at many doors: demagogues who claim there is only one path to virtuous Americanness, multiculturalists who seek to rewrite history, advocators of political correctness, and sociologists who see the dysfunctional family as the cause of most personal problems. The book is an extraordinary statement of the times, and a clarion call for the rebuilding of America.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1035164 in Books
• Published on: 1999-01-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Time art critic and author of two best-selling books, The Fatal Shore and Barcelona, Robert Hughes is a recognized authority on the 20th century art scene.

Customer Reviews

A Finely-Tuned Blast At PC
I thoroughly enjoyed Hughes' lively and pointed skewering of the apostles of PC and their tiresome love of victimhood. I must question how closely the Kirkus Reviews writer (cited above) read "Culture of Complaint" because the reviewer takes Hughes to task for not addressing some issues in more ponderous depth. The explanation is simple and is provided in the preface: "Culture" was drawn from a series of three lectures Hughes gave at Yale University, and the lectures are presented in the book with a minimum of editing. Heavily-footnoted lectures would have been a sure path to mass narcolepsy among Hughes' original sudiences.

A Fine Australian Whine
Despite the fact that I agree with most of Hughes' analysis of both the American left and right, this book rubbed me as the ranting of someone who would never dare take a stand and jump into the political fray himself. The title is ironic, considering that the book is one continuous complaint itself. Hughes DOES present sound, well-articulated criticisms of both liberal and conservative movements in the US, which, being a moderate, I find persuasive. However, it is so easy for pundits like himself and those on Sunday morning talking head shows to take shots at politicians from the outside, but don't have the intestinal fortitude to put their views on the line before a diverse, unpredictable electorate. I'll take him more seriously when he's served on the local city council for a couple of years.

CULTURE OF COMPLAINT
I wish I could review this book, however five weeks after placing my order, I still haven't received it.