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Yes, I've Read Murray's "Coming Apart"

A few people have solicited my opinion of the new Charles Murray book about honkies, most urgently TNR's literary editor, who assigned me to review it kind of a long time ago. My one-word evaluation (this is the Web, after all) would be: "Meh." In the end the book isn't really just about white America, so accusations that Murray doesn't care about the African American and Latino working classes are off-base. The book documents a real phenomenon--the frightening mutual isolation of the affluent and the working class--but it interprets that phenomenon in eccentric and unconvincing ways that Murray (having been excoriated before for even more eccentric and unconvincing, not to say repugnant, analyses) is not in much of a mood to defend. Believe me, don't believe me, I get paid either wayFor a more detailed discussion, click here.