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On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense
Take a look at Americans in their natural guys shopping for barbecue grills, doing that special walk men do when in the presence of lumber; superefficient soccer Ubermoms who chair school auctions, organize PTAs, and weigh less than their kids; and suburban chain restaurants, which if they merged would be called Chili's Olive Garden Hard Rock Outback Cantina. Are we as shallow as we look? Many around the world see us as the great bimbos. Sure, Americans work hard and are energetic, but that is because we are money-hungry and don't know how to relax.
But if you probe deeper, you find that we behave the way we do because we live under the spell of paradise. We are the inheritors of a sense of limitless possibilities, raised to think in the future tense and to strive toward the happiness we naturally accept.
On Paradise Drive, at once serious and comic, describes this distinct American future-mindedness that shapes our personalities and underlies our beliefs.
But if you probe deeper, you find that we behave the way we do because we live under the spell of paradise. We are the inheritors of a sense of limitless possibilities, raised to think in the future tense and to strive toward the happiness we naturally accept.
On Paradise Drive, at once serious and comic, describes this distinct American future-mindedness that shapes our personalities and underlies our beliefs.
320 pages, Paperback
First published May 25, 2004
65 people are currently reading
984 people want to read
About the author
David Brooks
23 books2,461 followersDavid Brooks is one of the nation’s leading writers and commentators. He is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, a writer for The Atlantic, and appears regularly on PBS Newshour. He is the bestselling author of The Second Mountain, The Road to Character, The Social Animal, Bobos in Paradise, and On Paradise Drive.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
July 4, 2010
David Brooks is one of the most pragmatic interpreters of the modern world. In “On Paradise Drive” he attempts to explain modern middle-class America and his sprawling borderless frontier is as far removed from the soulless literary terrain of John Cheever as the Land of Oz. He makes merciless fun of all our modern pretentions, our strivings for perfection. His conclusion in the end, however, is not that we’re the mere shallow bimbos of the world, but that we do many of the things we do because we are the inheritors of a sense of limitless possibilities, raised to think in the future tense and strive towards a better world. We’re the inheritors of Abraham Lincoln’s “last best hope” and Jonathan Edwards’ “rowing towards heaven”. We’re all Daniel Boone’s looking for a gap in the mountains, for a better life that is always just over the hill, around the bend, down the trail a piece. Our limitless, or nearly so, natural resources and the open invitation of a better life has made us Americas relentless strivers. We just can’t help ourselves.
By and large we are strivers and perfectionists. Americans are utter failures when it comes to leading the simple life, which we profess to desire. You may start the day with noble intentions in your heart and one of those simplicity magazines by your side. You may tell yourself that today you are going to renounce material things. You’re going to slow down and savor the moment. So you break out the seaside candles, fill up the claw-foot tub and soak with a volume of Robert Frost in hand. But then bathroom renovation fantasies start crowding into your brain. To clear your mind and fulfill your simplicity promise you think of a place in the country and then realize you may need a second home. You’ve been sucked back in. You’ve returned to the realm of buying and selling. You turn back once more to your Simplicity Bible in one last desperate attempt to escape the whole chorus of striving, but you find that the magazine is nothing but a series of tips on how to be a better simplifier. It has merely taken the achievement ethos and applied it to the goal of simplification. And there is no respite at all.
Through much of the book Brooks makes merciless fun of our striving ways and skewers the whole of Middle America. From the NPR- loving shoppers of the morally elevated supermarkets like Trader Joe’s, where they sell mouthwash that doesn’t kill germs…it just asks them to leave, to the biker bad-asses who roar through this promised land with their flaming skull tattoos, bandanas and POW/MIA flags, and their “I do drunk Chicks” t-shirts. In biker heaven all the women drink beer from a pitcher and dream of becoming strippers. He pokes at the “Ubermoms” who, in the delivery room, probably cut the umbilical cord themselves (assuming they’re not too busy adjusting the video lighting) and then, focusing their attention on the delivery doctor, utter the words that mark the highest stage of ubermomism: “So, is her Apgar score above average?” He investigates modern college campuses where lurks the “Achievatron”, the modern student who has been programed to excel since receiving her Apgar score and who never looks back. Brooks lands some blows that are so perceptive and funny that I nearly fell from my chair.
In the end however this is serious sociological survey of modern Middle America. He draws much inspiration from Jürgen Moltman’s book, “Theology of Hope” which explains Christian eschatology by saying that “man has no subsistence in himself, but is always on the way towards something and realizes himself in the light of some expected future whole”. In the end it is also a very hopeful study. For all of his lampooning Brooks is generally pleased with modern America and hopeful about its future.
By and large we are strivers and perfectionists. Americans are utter failures when it comes to leading the simple life, which we profess to desire. You may start the day with noble intentions in your heart and one of those simplicity magazines by your side. You may tell yourself that today you are going to renounce material things. You’re going to slow down and savor the moment. So you break out the seaside candles, fill up the claw-foot tub and soak with a volume of Robert Frost in hand. But then bathroom renovation fantasies start crowding into your brain. To clear your mind and fulfill your simplicity promise you think of a place in the country and then realize you may need a second home. You’ve been sucked back in. You’ve returned to the realm of buying and selling. You turn back once more to your Simplicity Bible in one last desperate attempt to escape the whole chorus of striving, but you find that the magazine is nothing but a series of tips on how to be a better simplifier. It has merely taken the achievement ethos and applied it to the goal of simplification. And there is no respite at all.
Through much of the book Brooks makes merciless fun of our striving ways and skewers the whole of Middle America. From the NPR- loving shoppers of the morally elevated supermarkets like Trader Joe’s, where they sell mouthwash that doesn’t kill germs…it just asks them to leave, to the biker bad-asses who roar through this promised land with their flaming skull tattoos, bandanas and POW/MIA flags, and their “I do drunk Chicks” t-shirts. In biker heaven all the women drink beer from a pitcher and dream of becoming strippers. He pokes at the “Ubermoms” who, in the delivery room, probably cut the umbilical cord themselves (assuming they’re not too busy adjusting the video lighting) and then, focusing their attention on the delivery doctor, utter the words that mark the highest stage of ubermomism: “So, is her Apgar score above average?” He investigates modern college campuses where lurks the “Achievatron”, the modern student who has been programed to excel since receiving her Apgar score and who never looks back. Brooks lands some blows that are so perceptive and funny that I nearly fell from my chair.
In the end however this is serious sociological survey of modern Middle America. He draws much inspiration from Jürgen Moltman’s book, “Theology of Hope” which explains Christian eschatology by saying that “man has no subsistence in himself, but is always on the way towards something and realizes himself in the light of some expected future whole”. In the end it is also a very hopeful study. For all of his lampooning Brooks is generally pleased with modern America and hopeful about its future.
November 6, 2018
Brooks writes about the main divisions of upscale city-suburb life and how these subgroups come together to be characterized as “America” and “Americanism.” Brooks views his subject matter through the eyes of like-minded people who find each other and form their communities. Brooks then characterizes the individuals in these groupings by giving them names (Hipster, Patio Man, Realtor Man), and says that all are afflicted by the “Theology of Achievement” (“the Achievatron”). Yet even with these divisions, he believes we are united in fundamental ways so that foreigners are able to form an opinion about the USA. In their view, we are hell-bent on success. We are Franklin’s “man on the make.” We are crass materialists on the one hand and hopelessly idealistic on the other. As opposed to “Cosmic Brunettes,” we are “Cosmic Blondes,” Brooks summarizes (I am surprised Brooks uses these stereotypes).
The book is a “hop-scotch drive around middle and upper-class America.” This is Brook’s “Paradise Drive.” We are, he writes, the world’s first “Suburban Empire.” Though he refers to named communities around the country, the perspective is his northeast corridor. Though he begins his book with a reference to the Three Americas – the Sunbelt, the Melting Pot, and the Heartland – there’s nothing much about these, the conservative South, or farmers and industrial workers. There’s nothing said about the poor, the Christian right, or the racist-nationalists, and there’s not much hint in this book of the blue-red state divide. Given these fundamental divisions, Brooks’ various characterizations seem inaccurate as a way to see ourselves.
I like the TV Brooks. His old school, conservative-leaning, thoughtful voice co-exists nicely with others who don’t see the world quite the same way, but this book is a disappointment. His naming labels are, for whatever reason, are annoying. Much of the writing style is peppy and entertaining, but much of it also seems over-the-top, using language more for affect than to describe accurately. For example, he writes that you can spot an Uber-Mom at the board and parent association meetings of most high-achieving elementary schools because “they generally weigh less than their children. They may have given birth to their youngest one, say, twelve hours before, but they still have washboard abs and buttocks firming than footballs.”
The book is a “hop-scotch drive around middle and upper-class America.” This is Brook’s “Paradise Drive.” We are, he writes, the world’s first “Suburban Empire.” Though he refers to named communities around the country, the perspective is his northeast corridor. Though he begins his book with a reference to the Three Americas – the Sunbelt, the Melting Pot, and the Heartland – there’s nothing much about these, the conservative South, or farmers and industrial workers. There’s nothing said about the poor, the Christian right, or the racist-nationalists, and there’s not much hint in this book of the blue-red state divide. Given these fundamental divisions, Brooks’ various characterizations seem inaccurate as a way to see ourselves.
I like the TV Brooks. His old school, conservative-leaning, thoughtful voice co-exists nicely with others who don’t see the world quite the same way, but this book is a disappointment. His naming labels are, for whatever reason, are annoying. Much of the writing style is peppy and entertaining, but much of it also seems over-the-top, using language more for affect than to describe accurately. For example, he writes that you can spot an Uber-Mom at the board and parent association meetings of most high-achieving elementary schools because “they generally weigh less than their children. They may have given birth to their youngest one, say, twelve hours before, but they still have washboard abs and buttocks firming than footballs.”
February 12, 2013
Social commentary by an NPR personality who might rightly lay claim to being the new Studs Terkel... pretty darn well written if a bit self-consciously pedantic at points. Most of the book comprises a litany of the problems of contemporary society: greed, narcissism, anomie, over-parenting, moral relativism, etc etc. He makes it clear that we are living in a man-made hell of a sort- as my daughter so wryly put it: "The only acceptable form of suicide today is to let your soul die while your husk goes on making money for corporations." But Brooks maintains a steady undercurrent that hints that there exists an sparkling American soul residing at some very deep level that we can't quite see or feel because we're too busy forging the brilliant future for ourselves and the whole world. He accesses this soul by continual Walt Whitman and Thoreau quotes and a the social commentary of bunch of dead European guys whose relevance is impossible to gauge. As he floats toward the intellectual stratosphere, his conclusion seem a little too neat. The book winds up with a paean of hopefulness that Miss Liberty's torch is, after all, some kind of beacon for the future of mankind. It made a good read, mostly because his insights into contemporary American life are often wicked and always witty.
December 16, 2008
According to the blurb, this book is "comic," but patronizing Canadian smugster David Brooks is about as funny as MAD TV. His unoriginal, "wry" insights into middle-class American life are so lame and self-satisfied they make me puke.
It's a shame because whenever he stops trying to amuse, he makes some interesting arguments. His idea is that outwardly dull, unimaginative middle-Americans in the suburbs are actually enlightened engines of progress who we all ought to worship. Or something like that, with a bit more American Studies 101 thrown in.
Clearly he's bat shit crazy. But it's easy to see why he's the "conservative liberals love" because he thinks that all the stupid little people are redeemed by qualities they are too stupid and little to comprehend. Classic liberal double-reverse false consciousness theory. He gets away with it because he's rude about the French and people who eat cous-cous. But he ain't foolin' me.
It's a shame because whenever he stops trying to amuse, he makes some interesting arguments. His idea is that outwardly dull, unimaginative middle-Americans in the suburbs are actually enlightened engines of progress who we all ought to worship. Or something like that, with a bit more American Studies 101 thrown in.
Clearly he's bat shit crazy. But it's easy to see why he's the "conservative liberals love" because he thinks that all the stupid little people are redeemed by qualities they are too stupid and little to comprehend. Classic liberal double-reverse false consciousness theory. He gets away with it because he's rude about the French and people who eat cous-cous. But he ain't foolin' me.
March 15, 2011
I read David Brooks's books twice -- once quietly to myself and then out loud to whomever is sitting next to me. As a huge fan of Bobo's in Paradise and a resident of one of the suburbs that he explores in the book, I was very excited to hear what Brooks had to say about America's exurbs and suburbs (all five varieties that he catalogues). While I enjoyed the book, I can't help but be mildly disappointed by the shallowness of some of his observations (Guys like grills! Women like shoes!) as well as some of his increasingly desperate attempts at humor (Grill Dad and Realtor Mom, seriously?). Still, there was some real insight hidden between the comic composites and exaggerations. The observation that the suburbs are not an anomaly, but actually an extension of the same philosophies that have animated this country since Day 1 was especially apt. All in all, I'd say this book was good, but certainly not great; solid airplane reading, but nothing more.
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Tỷ lệ thắng
Chiến thuật áp dụng
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February 5, 2019
What drives the American mind? Is it the never ending anticipation of future perfection? The bliss of a life of achievement? Of material success? All of the above...and more? As a people we are never satisfied, are we? Brooks discusses these and other important understandings of what makes us so unsettled.
July 24, 2021
I'm still not sure what this book is trying to do, and I don't think that Brooks really knows what this book is trying to do. On one hand, it serves as a hyperbolic, humorous account of middle class to upper-middle class America, and on the other, it acts as a serious sociology of that same class.
Brooks has an eye for broad trends in America, and I think that his chapters on "Learning" and "Shopping" are both useful and funny. If more of the book was written like these chapters, I would have enjoyed it much more. The combination of useful sociology and humor is well-balanced here, but it's completely uneven throughout the rest of the book. His discussion of college hookups and constant consumption seem current, and his use of student quotes bolsters his argument. He speaks intelligently on the topic, and doesn't seem like a Boomer trying to understand Millennials or Gen Z, which is pretty rare.
Some of his book, though, seems like it is trying to please a very specific group of people. These are likely people who enjoy the watered-down conservatism of the NYT op-eds. You can imagine these people laughing hysterically at "Patio Man" and "Ubermom" for striving to provide a better life for their kids. There is certainly material for satire here that Brooks could mine, I just didn't find his jokes to be funny. The "He's buying a grill--typical suburban dad!" and "There goes Mom again, looking at new pairs of jeans!" style of humor is not for me.
I will return to the chapters on "Learning" and "Shopping" eventually, as Brooks has some great content here. He also cites some interesting books that I would like to read. Ultimately, Brooks wrote a book that had promise, but ended up trying to do too much.
Brooks has an eye for broad trends in America, and I think that his chapters on "Learning" and "Shopping" are both useful and funny. If more of the book was written like these chapters, I would have enjoyed it much more. The combination of useful sociology and humor is well-balanced here, but it's completely uneven throughout the rest of the book. His discussion of college hookups and constant consumption seem current, and his use of student quotes bolsters his argument. He speaks intelligently on the topic, and doesn't seem like a Boomer trying to understand Millennials or Gen Z, which is pretty rare.
Some of his book, though, seems like it is trying to please a very specific group of people. These are likely people who enjoy the watered-down conservatism of the NYT op-eds. You can imagine these people laughing hysterically at "Patio Man" and "Ubermom" for striving to provide a better life for their kids. There is certainly material for satire here that Brooks could mine, I just didn't find his jokes to be funny. The "He's buying a grill--typical suburban dad!" and "There goes Mom again, looking at new pairs of jeans!" style of humor is not for me.
I will return to the chapters on "Learning" and "Shopping" eventually, as Brooks has some great content here. He also cites some interesting books that I would like to read. Ultimately, Brooks wrote a book that had promise, but ended up trying to do too much.
December 27, 2020
This book thinks it is far cleverer than it actually is. The book promises to be a sort of "anthropological" study of the American middle class and tries to make the argument that the defining feature of American identity is an obsessive looking to the promise of the future. I don't disagree with the general idea. I actually like David Brooks and am sympathetic to some of his arguments about politics. However, I feel that the view expressed here of Americans is very outdated and only reflects a particular type of American. What sets me off about the book is that it attempts to be funny and tongue-in-cheek about its subject. I find the wise-ass routine here to be really grating. This could be seen as an artifact of America in the early 2000s but its not earth shattering by any means and is one of those books that should be forgotten quickly. Books like Collin Woodard's American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America and American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good are much better at capturing the diversity of American identity.
September 28, 2023
A quick and enjoyable read. David Brooks is snarky and overgeneralizes about society, both of which sins he freely confesses. As I read “On Paradise Drive” I found myself thinking that he was just repeating stereotypes, there isn’t much depth here, and then I would encounter a sentence that exactly described my life experience. Brooks mainly discusses life in the suburban sprawl of the United States in the early 2000s. He’s writing during the housing boom, before there was much talk of the declining middle class, and celebrating the diversity of subcultures spread like a patchwork across the American landscape. If you’ve read his book “Bobos in Paradise,” you recall that his term means “Bo-hemian Bo-urgeoisie” – referring to the enfolding of hip, counterculture life into mainstream middle America. This is the America of the early 21st century. If you read the book now (2020s) it will seem dated and lacking in foresight, but it's interesting as a snapshot of a new defunct social era.
December 14, 2019
A delightful and interesting read about Americans, my favorite subject. Serious, but very comedic through large swaths of it. Written in 2004 it’s just a shade out of date but still 99% spot on about who we are. Loved it!!
August 25, 2024
On Paradise Drive is a an outstanding, perceptive observation of America, our culture, its drivers and history. I write this in 2024, 20 years after this book was published.
It ages extremely well.
Thanks, David Brooks.
It ages extremely well.
Thanks, David Brooks.
May 20, 2017
Feels a bit De Toquevillian, this one.
Brooks' idea of the Cosmic Blond and the Cosmic Brunette have infused my sociopolitical thinking.
Highly recommended.
Brooks' idea of the Cosmic Blond and the Cosmic Brunette have infused my sociopolitical thinking.
Highly recommended.
October 10, 2019
Cosmic Blondes and Cosmic Brunettes
October 31, 2019
I decided not to finish this. It was taking too long for me to figure out where it was going.
October 25, 2021
Quite humorous!
Read
April 19, 2024The story of suburban America in the mid 2000s— white picket fence, American Dream, McMansion, car culture, post-war boom, Levittowns, gated communities, and keeping up with the Joneses.
September 16, 2024
Enjoyed it! Brooks has a way of knowing Americans better than we know ourselves and articulating who we are and what motivates us.
September 5, 2007
"America hungers for success, and manifestly is a success, and at the same time suspects that worldly success will be its undoing."
To start this collection of observations, Brooks explores the types of communities in Modern America - starting with the urban "culture-based industries" of the hipster, continuing on to the "crunchy suburbs" (hipsters with kids). Next is the inner ring, combining cocooning with telecommuting, then the suburban core - where the golf concept of "par" seems to rule, finishing with the exurbs = "Mayberry with Blackberries" True rural communities get short shrift - too easy a target?
He then riffs on Patio Man and Realtor Mom (children = Travel Team Girl & BuzzCut Boy) as suburban stereotypes, navigating the "archipelagos of big box malls" returning to their miniMcMansions placed much too close together. He cites a visit to a price club: "[She] stocks up on so many fat-free, sugar-free, lactose-free and cholesterol-free items, that the boxes she carries might as well be empty."
Other topics include magazines as a tool for "anticipatory hedonism"; expectations for children being focused on the short-term future vs making overarching goals and how the current (2004) college generation doesn't seem to have anything to rebel against, so they don't bother. On our position in world politics: "[Americans] have to act on the world state, which is a place that doesn't interest most of them." I found the concept of Cosmic Blondes (vapid, yet rising effortlessly through their career path) vs Cosmic Brunettes (observing & reflecting, fretting & fuming) rather amusing - 3 guesses as to which group I identify with?
While most of the book is simply pulled from his own observations, Brooks pulls in outside references (Toqueville, among others) as well; pointing out that " for about 260 years, America has been rich and allegedly money-mad and materialistic." ... and we've survived this far. If you're already a bit dubious about the cultural or sociological state of the US of A - this book probably won't help your state of mind; the level of snark is awfully high & the points he makes can hit pretty close to home. He does try to wrap things up on a hopeful note, but the mishmash of topics makes it difficult to wrap things up neatly.
I would recommend this as a loaner or second-hand purchase; Brooks has a way with a clever turn of phrase; I just wish he'd pulled what seems to be a collection of essays & observations into a more cohesive whole.
To start this collection of observations, Brooks explores the types of communities in Modern America - starting with the urban "culture-based industries" of the hipster, continuing on to the "crunchy suburbs" (hipsters with kids). Next is the inner ring, combining cocooning with telecommuting, then the suburban core - where the golf concept of "par" seems to rule, finishing with the exurbs = "Mayberry with Blackberries" True rural communities get short shrift - too easy a target?
He then riffs on Patio Man and Realtor Mom (children = Travel Team Girl & BuzzCut Boy) as suburban stereotypes, navigating the "archipelagos of big box malls" returning to their miniMcMansions placed much too close together. He cites a visit to a price club: "[She] stocks up on so many fat-free, sugar-free, lactose-free and cholesterol-free items, that the boxes she carries might as well be empty."
Other topics include magazines as a tool for "anticipatory hedonism"; expectations for children being focused on the short-term future vs making overarching goals and how the current (2004) college generation doesn't seem to have anything to rebel against, so they don't bother. On our position in world politics: "[Americans] have to act on the world state, which is a place that doesn't interest most of them." I found the concept of Cosmic Blondes (vapid, yet rising effortlessly through their career path) vs Cosmic Brunettes (observing & reflecting, fretting & fuming) rather amusing - 3 guesses as to which group I identify with?
While most of the book is simply pulled from his own observations, Brooks pulls in outside references (Toqueville, among others) as well; pointing out that " for about 260 years, America has been rich and allegedly money-mad and materialistic." ... and we've survived this far. If you're already a bit dubious about the cultural or sociological state of the US of A - this book probably won't help your state of mind; the level of snark is awfully high & the points he makes can hit pretty close to home. He does try to wrap things up on a hopeful note, but the mishmash of topics makes it difficult to wrap things up neatly.
I would recommend this as a loaner or second-hand purchase; Brooks has a way with a clever turn of phrase; I just wish he'd pulled what seems to be a collection of essays & observations into a more cohesive whole.
June 6, 2012
1st: apologies for my high school essay writing style!
I don't want to regurgitate what you can read on the book flap, or summarize, as other people have done quite well in their reviews already.
Sometimes when I tell my friends that I'm reading David Brooks, they say, "Oh, that conservative guy that write for the New York Times." The funny thing is, I've read some of his op-ed pieces, and I've heard him on NPR, and I'm not sure why he is labled as conservative. He seems pretty pragmatic and middle-of-the-road, not too far from Obama or Bill Clinton. So, to my progressive friends, take my word: Brooks will not try to beat you down with conservative arguments.
Also, you will see a lot of reviewers who say, "this is unfunny and mean spirited." Well, fact is, Brooks has managed to tease apart the various socio-political groups in America, then skewers them all! He isn't picking on one demographic, he's lampooning everyone! If you accept my notion that Americans generally don't like to be made fun of, this explains why Brooks is getting this low rating from many reviewers.
To me, this is a good read, because Brooks has gone to the trouble to do two things: He has surveyed a sizable collection of books that theorize about the American character, and presents his synthesis of these in a readabl manner. Also he has done the field work to observe the natives in all of their habitats: urban, suburban, rural, and the newest, fastest growing segment, the exurbs. Honestly I couldn't be bothered to visit most of the places that Brooks went. I can kick up my feet up and read all about it from home.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy Tom Wolfe's writing. Tom Wolfe likes to skewer rich people, politicians, and hippies, among others. David Brooks is less interested in the periphery of American Life, and more interested in middle America, in all of its variety.
I don't want to regurgitate what you can read on the book flap, or summarize, as other people have done quite well in their reviews already.
Sometimes when I tell my friends that I'm reading David Brooks, they say, "Oh, that conservative guy that write for the New York Times." The funny thing is, I've read some of his op-ed pieces, and I've heard him on NPR, and I'm not sure why he is labled as conservative. He seems pretty pragmatic and middle-of-the-road, not too far from Obama or Bill Clinton. So, to my progressive friends, take my word: Brooks will not try to beat you down with conservative arguments.
Also, you will see a lot of reviewers who say, "this is unfunny and mean spirited." Well, fact is, Brooks has managed to tease apart the various socio-political groups in America, then skewers them all! He isn't picking on one demographic, he's lampooning everyone! If you accept my notion that Americans generally don't like to be made fun of, this explains why Brooks is getting this low rating from many reviewers.
To me, this is a good read, because Brooks has gone to the trouble to do two things: He has surveyed a sizable collection of books that theorize about the American character, and presents his synthesis of these in a readabl manner. Also he has done the field work to observe the natives in all of their habitats: urban, suburban, rural, and the newest, fastest growing segment, the exurbs. Honestly I couldn't be bothered to visit most of the places that Brooks went. I can kick up my feet up and read all about it from home.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy Tom Wolfe's writing. Tom Wolfe likes to skewer rich people, politicians, and hippies, among others. David Brooks is less interested in the periphery of American Life, and more interested in middle America, in all of its variety.
August 24, 2015
I think of the three great David Brooks books -- Bobos in Paradise, The Social Animal, and On Paradise Drive -- Paradise Drive is the weakest. It is the least provocative and Brooks admits to have done little original research. Having said that, the data points and statistics and facts are interesting, if merely confirmatory of what we know to be the characteristics of our contemporary middle-class society.
The UberMom section was observational but I didn't come away with an understanding of why Ubermoms are a contemporary American phenomenon and why so late in appearing on our cultural scene. What happened to June Cleaver? Why didn't we have Ubermoms in the 50s? The section about "the problem with kids today" was also observational and also did not provide any insight about WHY kids today are so passive. Perhaps related to the Ubermom phenomenon -- perhaps not? The section about working was interesting, particularly the part about how charisma and zeal do not make the best CEO -- slow steady plodding progress does. And how workaholism is stupid. Answer -- work less. Is that un-American? Will that make us French? Do we care?
My overall takeaway was the people who think Americans are superficial and missing the point of being an American (a point of which I must approve, being an American and all), and that we are actually less materialistic than people think as evidenced by the fact that we discard our posessions to "trade up" with no apparent regret as soon as something new comes out. He ascribes it to our messianic City on the Hill zeal to always improve ourselves, the world, our neighborhoods, whatever. Intriguing, if not satisfying.
The UberMom section was observational but I didn't come away with an understanding of why Ubermoms are a contemporary American phenomenon and why so late in appearing on our cultural scene. What happened to June Cleaver? Why didn't we have Ubermoms in the 50s? The section about "the problem with kids today" was also observational and also did not provide any insight about WHY kids today are so passive. Perhaps related to the Ubermom phenomenon -- perhaps not? The section about working was interesting, particularly the part about how charisma and zeal do not make the best CEO -- slow steady plodding progress does. And how workaholism is stupid. Answer -- work less. Is that un-American? Will that make us French? Do we care?
My overall takeaway was the people who think Americans are superficial and missing the point of being an American (a point of which I must approve, being an American and all), and that we are actually less materialistic than people think as evidenced by the fact that we discard our posessions to "trade up" with no apparent regret as soon as something new comes out. He ascribes it to our messianic City on the Hill zeal to always improve ourselves, the world, our neighborhoods, whatever. Intriguing, if not satisfying.
January 19, 2010
"On Paradise Drive" doesn't present much new information but is a pleasant, well put together read anyway. David Brooks spends most of the book arguing that overworked, consumerist American culture is empty and pathetic. He explains how the striving of the American Dream is rooted in the founding of America-- that it has always been a land of fantasy and the dream of opportunity; that the pioneer once strove for more land, healthier livestock while today's suburban family strives for more money, more possessions, whatever will finally make them happy once and for all. He oh-so-sparsely places brief apologies for his snarkiness throughout the book, explaining that Americans aren't as vapid as they seem, they're just so uniquely idealistic that the rest of the world has a hard time understanding them. I don't buy it. Also, while Brooks briefly talks about how this American Dream affects immigrants, he overwhelmingly focuses on different classes of WASPS. It would have added a dimension to the book if he'd talked about poor Americans as well as the middle class.
Read
February 5, 2009Woe the conservative who finds favor with the "liberal" press. After his breakthrough turn in Bobos in Paradise, Brooks, a New York Times op-ed columnist, was the rare elephant in the living room that the Blue states could cuddle up to. While none of the criticism seems overtly motivated by politics, there is a tone of disappointment in most of the reviews. Brooks still has a way with his well-honed cultural skewer, although a tendency towards generalizations bothers many critics. The loudest grumbles are provoked by Brooks's incessant need to go for the easy joke, many of which just aren't funny. More importantly, critics raise questions about the relevance of his argument. It seems, for the moment, the zeitgeist has Mr. Brooks in its rear-view mirror.
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
April 24, 2011
Early in this book, Brooks tries to comically sketch different types of Americans (suburbanites, exurbanites, etc). Either I'm completely ignorant of what my fellow Americans are like, or these characterizations are neither accurate nor funny.
I will admit that I didn't read the middle section of this book, where Brooks gives his perspective on how Americans deal with things like shopping and higher education. These topics don't particularly interest me, and I'm not sure that I'd trust Brooks's observations anyway.
In the final chapter, Brooks lays out his argument that what makes the United States exceptional is Americans' boundless hope. It's a fine, compelling chapter. However, while reading it I could not help but remember, with bitterness, that during the same year Brooks was writing this book (2004) he was also using his NY Times column to defend the hope-killing policies of George W. Bush.
I will admit that I didn't read the middle section of this book, where Brooks gives his perspective on how Americans deal with things like shopping and higher education. These topics don't particularly interest me, and I'm not sure that I'd trust Brooks's observations anyway.
In the final chapter, Brooks lays out his argument that what makes the United States exceptional is Americans' boundless hope. It's a fine, compelling chapter. However, while reading it I could not help but remember, with bitterness, that during the same year Brooks was writing this book (2004) he was also using his NY Times column to defend the hope-killing policies of George W. Bush.
June 5, 2013
A surprisingly interesting read. I'm one of those Dems that tends to like how Brooks approaches things, but I didn't know what to expect from him over 280 pages. He does a laudable job of describing and interpreting middle-American life and engaging with the constant critiques of suburbia. Especially ringing is his deft treatment of college students and their formation by the great national Achievatron. (For those in higher ed, that alone makes the book worthwhile.) Philosophically, Brooks gives us a contemporary sense of what Dewey was pointing at in his writing about life as growth. The aim of life is to continue and Americans have applied that maxim in the context of abundance and seemingly limitless opportunity. That said, what Brooks is also showing us why the shadows in Plato's Cave are so engrossing. Don't we know they're just shadows? We do, argues Brooks, but we are in a "paradise spell," believing deeply that the next shadow will hold the key to our freedom.
January 29, 2012
I read this as part of 'The Paradise Suite' - the book's re-release with 'Bobos in Paradise', his previous book. Together, the two works represent Brooks' attempt at explaining what it means to be a contemporary American, in socio-economic terms. It is a tough topic that many (of whom Brooks' spares few in citing) have taken on, and which Brooks does well with.
On Paradise Drive takes on the ideas of American exceptionalism and consumerism, broadly. At times I feel Brooks is too generous or too optimistic in describing where American ambition comes from. I tend not to be able to get too far beyond the simple 'keeping up with the Joneses' line of reasoning for what drives American consumerism. But I'll admit that Brooks posits a few arguments that have brought me to question how thoroughly I understand the forces at play.
On Paradise Drive takes on the ideas of American exceptionalism and consumerism, broadly. At times I feel Brooks is too generous or too optimistic in describing where American ambition comes from. I tend not to be able to get too far beyond the simple 'keeping up with the Joneses' line of reasoning for what drives American consumerism. But I'll admit that Brooks posits a few arguments that have brought me to question how thoroughly I understand the forces at play.
March 7, 2008
This is in similar style to Brooks' work "Bobos in Paradise" where he takes a socio-comedic look at middle class American life. The last chapter is the most interesting, where he reflects on what really drives American capitalism--imagination. Americans live in the future--or the promise of the future--which allows us to live in some crappy situations, but hope for much, much more. Brooks ends the book with the following lines, which I think sums up the condition, "Americans have a nobility syndrome. We have trouble adjusting to the reality situation." This explains everything from why we are surprised that other nations consider us the Bimbos of the world to the insanity that is the gameshow Deal or No Deal.
May 17, 2009
from Claire for Christmas 2008
Another interesting read from David Brooks. His humor is pretty good, and his ideas are very good, and his summary is excellent. But I'm not sure if all the many pages he uses to set up his conclusion is necessary or simply padding.
He uses a lot of current American behaviors then tries to defend them by reaching back to Walt Whitman and earlier to describe how people were concerned about America and Americans 150+ years ago. If this was noticed as unique in human history at that time, then why are we beating ourselves up still today? Is American exceptionalism (not superiority) real? If so, is it on balance good for humankind? Brooks falls short of stating that emphatically.
thank you claire - keep them coming
Another interesting read from David Brooks. His humor is pretty good, and his ideas are very good, and his summary is excellent. But I'm not sure if all the many pages he uses to set up his conclusion is necessary or simply padding.
He uses a lot of current American behaviors then tries to defend them by reaching back to Walt Whitman and earlier to describe how people were concerned about America and Americans 150+ years ago. If this was noticed as unique in human history at that time, then why are we beating ourselves up still today? Is American exceptionalism (not superiority) real? If so, is it on balance good for humankind? Brooks falls short of stating that emphatically.
thank you claire - keep them coming
October 22, 2012
David Brooks has more energy and creativity than I can possibly handle in 285 pages. He takes a witty look at the suburbs (Home Depot, Olive Garden, PTA, over achieving students, bumper sticker parents) and more. And times he is incredibly harsh and describes our suburban culture as incredibly shallow, materialistic, and (we are bimbos or bobos) for endlessly chasing after the perfect car, perfectly green lawn, and the perfect vacation. But at other times Brooks praises the suburban culture for an unfettered optimism that there is something better always worth fighting for..even if we move endlessly, change jobs, change churches.
You won't be bored with this book (every sentence has about 15 different thoughts and opinions) but I'm not sure where I am after reading this book?
You won't be bored with this book (every sentence has about 15 different thoughts and opinions) but I'm not sure where I am after reading this book?
June 15, 2007
This books consists of three things:
-Brooks' poorly supported and somewhat contradictory view of American exceptionalism, which was said better by frontier theorists a century ago.
-Observations repetitive of Bobos in Paradise
-Brooks constantly telling you how his book is satirical criticism and is meant to be funny. But it really wasnt funny--nowhere near the level of Bobos in Paradise.
My favorite part of the book is in the intro, in which Brooks thanks his wife whose plans for a new addition of the house created the financial need for the book. I think that sums up the amount of original thought that sparked the justification for this book.
-Brooks' poorly supported and somewhat contradictory view of American exceptionalism, which was said better by frontier theorists a century ago.
-Observations repetitive of Bobos in Paradise
-Brooks constantly telling you how his book is satirical criticism and is meant to be funny. But it really wasnt funny--nowhere near the level of Bobos in Paradise.
My favorite part of the book is in the intro, in which Brooks thanks his wife whose plans for a new addition of the house created the financial need for the book. I think that sums up the amount of original thought that sparked the justification for this book.
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