The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
by Barry Schwartz
America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism
by Anatol Lieven
Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think
by George Lakoff
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The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
by Barry Schwartz
From Publishers Weekly
Like Thoreau and the band Devo, psychology professor Schwartz provides
ample evidence that we are faced with far too many choices on a daily
basis, providing an illusion of a multitude of options when few
honestly different ones actually exist. The conclusions Schwartz draws
will be familiar to anyone who has flipped through 900 eerily similar
channels of cable television only to find that nothing good is on.
Whether choosing a health-care plan, choosing a college class or even
buying a pair of jeans, Schwartz, drawing extensively on his own work
in the social sciences, shows that a bewildering array of choices
floods our exhausted brains, ultimately restricting instead of freeing
us. We normally assume in America that more options ("easy fit" or
"relaxed fit"?) will make us happier, but Schwartz shows the opposite
is true, arguing that having all these choices actually goes so far as
to erode our psychological well-being. Part research summary, part
introductory social sciences tutorial, part self-help guide, this book
offers concrete steps on how to reduce stress in decision making. Some
will find Schwartz's conclusions too obvious, and others may disagree
with his points or find them too repetitive, but to the average lay
reader, Schwartz's accessible style and helpful tone is likely to aid
the quietly desperate.
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America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism
by Anatol Lieven
From Publishers Weekly
In this provocative and scholarly work, Lieven, senior associate at
Washington's Carnegie Endowment, argues that normative American
patriotism—an optimistic "civic creed" rooted in respect for America's
institutions, individual freedoms and constitutional law—contains a
monster in the basement: a jingoistic, militaristic, Jacksonian
nationalism that sees America as the bearer of a messianic mission to
lead a Manichean struggle against the savages. Since 9/11, the Bush
administration and its Christian-fundamentalist "base" have invoked
the nationalist tradition in waging the struggle against the
"evil-doers." The result, Lieven argues, has been catastrophic for the
war on terror. Rather than rally to America as the beacon of liberty,
other nations (particular European and Muslim ones) feel repelled and
threatened by the cavalier and unilateral superpower. Lieven's
provocative final chapter argues that much of U.S. support for Israel
is rooted not in the "civic creed" (e.g., support for a fellow liberal
democracy) but in a nationalism that sees the Israelis as heroic
cowboys and the Palestinians as savages who must be driven from their
land, as Jackson did the Cherokees. Throughout, Lieven takes to task
the American liberal intelligentsia for abandoning universalist
principles in favor of ethnic chauvinism and nationalist fervor.
Cogently argued, this is an important contribution to the discourse on
national identity, the war on terror and the nature of political
liberalism.
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Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
From Publishers Weekly
Based on interviews with 91 internationally recognized creative
people-among them Nobel physicist John Bardeen, arts
administrator-performer Kitty Carlisle Hart, writer Denise Levertov,
jazz musician Oscar Peterson, electronics executive Robert Galvin-this
book offers a highly readable anatomy of creativity. As
Csikzentmihalyi (Flow) argues, creativity requires not only unusual
individuals, but a culture and field of experts that can foster and
validate such work. Most creative people, the author suggests, have
dialectic personalities: smart yet naive, both extroverted and
introverted, etc. Expanding on his previous book, Csikszentmihalyi
suggests that complex and challenging work exemplifies fully engaged
"flow." Synthesizing study results, he reports that none of the
interviewees was popular during adolescence; while they were not
necessarily more brilliant than their college peers, they displayed
more "concentrated attention." Later, they kept a consistent focus on
future work. The author reminds us that while individuals can make
their own opportunities, a supportive society offering resources and
rewards can foster creativity. His advice may sound like homilies-"Try
to be surprised by something every day"-but is often worthy.
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Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think
by George Lakoff
In this classic text, the first full-scale application of cognitive
science to politics, George Lakoff analyzes the unconscious and
rhetorical worldviews of liberals and conservatives, discovering
radically different but remarkably consistent conceptions of morality
on both the left and right. For this new edition, Lakoff adds a
preface and an afterword extending his observations to major
ideological conflicts since the book's original publication, from the
impeachment of Bill Clinton to the 2000 presidential election and its
aftermath.