Argues that the American political left has destroyed itself by its own contradictions and self-imposed ills
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
There was once a familiar American left. Progressive unions, the civil rights movement, the women's movement, campaigns against poverty, war and other ills - all were recently a part of our national scene. Today all are faded or gone. Now, from Michael Tomasky, one of the most intelligent voices to emerge from the American left in years, comes a stirring challenge to our nation's progressive tradition. Left for Dead examines the troubling recent history and tenuous future of our nations' once-significant progressive movements, and makes an uncompromising study of how the left has been destroyed by its own contradictions and ills - and what must be done if there are any hopes for revival. With penetrating insight Tomasky uses revealing "case studies" to explore how today's left lost control of crucial issues such as welfare, immigration, affirmative action, and health care. It would be all too easy to blame the forces of the right for the left's slippage; but Tomasky explores how today's left has found its own way of "making enemies of everyone" - narrowly representing eccentrics, academic specialists and malcontents above the vast expanse of working-class Americans, whom it has come to regard with near-contempt. With each chapter a unique stepping stone in recent history, Tomasky traces the uneasy relationship between the left and the Democrats, the early institutionalization of identity politics in the McGovern campaign, the dead-end pursuit of welfare rights in the halls of academia, the confused and ultimately failed campaign for national health care and the ill-conceived politicking over immigration - all of which came to life with insight, freshness and candor in the pages of this book. It is from these ruinous times, however, that Tomasky finds the potential for a newly impassioned and American left, one that can understand all that is truly good and promising in America and can become reconnected with the hopes and the motivations of everyday people. But it is a potential that can be realized only with a dramatic break from recent years. If there is to be a recognizable American left in the next century, the thoughtful and urgent work can begin the discussion that will take it there.
Michael Tomasky is now a columnist for New York magazine.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Seller: Giant Giant, Reston, VA, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: UsedVeryGood. Very Good Condition CD/DVD. Case or cover show minimal wear. Not Satisfied? Contact us to get a refund. Seller Inventory # BRG-26_3_424
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.75. Seller Inventory # G0684827506I3N10
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.75. Seller Inventory # G0684827506I3N10
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. First Edition/First Printing. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 8856203-20
Quantity: 2 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. First Edition/First Printing. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 8432866-6
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Books Unplugged, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Buy with confidence! Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within 0.5. Seller Inventory # bk0684827506xvz189zvxgdd
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GF Books, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Book is in Used-VeryGood condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain very limited notes and highlighting. 0.5. Seller Inventory # 0684827506-2-3
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Hay-on-Wye Booksellers, Hay-on-Wye, HEREF, United Kingdom
Condition: Good. Some wear and a tear at edges/corners of dust jacket. Marks, scratches and light crumpling to dust jacket. Some bumps/wear at edges/corners of hard board. Inscription at 1st page. Text excellent, clean and unread. Seller Inventory # 053309-15
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Ground Zero Books, Ltd., Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.
Hardcover. First edition. Fiirt printing stated. vii, 226 p. Index. With penetrating wit, columnist Michael Tomasky explains how the Left has lost control of critical issues--welfare, immigration, affirmative action, and health care--how its intitutions and the thinkers who populate them have fallen, and how the Left can get back on its feet by discovering common ground with the alienated, working-class citizens whom it has, in recent history, treated with contempt. Very good in very good dust jacket. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Small crease in DJ front flap. Seller Inventory # 64711
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GoldBooks, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0684827506
Quantity: 1 available