DISCOVERING AMERICA: Travels in the Land of Guns, God, and Corporate Gurus

Billed as an irreverent and piercing debut book for leading Canadian political scientist Laxer, these travels are more reductionist than profane and more cloudy than probing: "I decided the best way to get a close look at this culture was to be a part of it, if only for a few days." The country Laxer uncovers is deterministic and frenzied rather than disturbing and seductive, and the complexities inherent in the critique remain sadly uncharted territory. What really irks is Laxer's lack of care and imagination, revealed in his comfortable, exhaustively ironic arguments, which are neither fresh nor very clever. He covers all the important topics: gun control, abortion, execution, democracy and God. This is important stuff, but attacking the fundamentalist right with mediocre tactics lends no credence to his—or any other—opposing stance. When he does conduct the rare interview, Laxer relies more upon his own insight than on what these remote folk (such as a leader of the Michigan Militia who abdicated) actually have to say. On the other hand, he freely quotes frightening commercials, fascistic Web sites, inflammatory op-eds from gun magazines; he also endlessly dissects food, food, food, American-style. In the end, Laxer's subject remains disappointingly under wraps. (Nov.)