Pity the Billionaire: The Hard Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right

Frank’s fifth book spotlights America’s political shift to the right and its embrace of laissez-faire economics (“the dogma of the nation’s ruling class”) in an effort to figure out why so many harshly affected by the Great Recession are falling in line behind the banner of free market theory. One response is that the downtrodden are quick to “lash out at whoever is in power”—and the talking points of right wing pundits are crisp: “Limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets.” Of course, the culture wars haven’t ended, but they’re invisible in the platform of the Tea Party. While others continue to shed heat, rather than light, on such issues as gay marriage, fiscal messaging is the prevailing ethos. Sadly, Frank’s book ends before the Occupy Wall Street movement took center stage across the United States and the world in fall 2011. Agent: The Spieler Agency. (Jan.)