AUDIO

Age of Anger: A History of the Present

by Pankaj Mishra
10 CDs. 12:09 hrs. Tantor. Feb. 2017. ISBN 9781515913887. $42.99. 1 MP3-CD, digital download. SOC SCI
COPY ISBN
The world has never known so much prosperity for so many people. Yet every day we are inundated with news of discontent on a global scale. We have all witnessed terrorism, both at home and abroad, mass protests on a dizzying array of issues, and the unnerving rise of political elites intent on propagating a narrative of us vs. them. Why? This is Mishra's (From the Ruins of Empire) attempt at an answer—and it is a compelling one. History has lessons to teach us. Fascinating parallels between the resentment and anarchy experienced in times past and our current time of social trial suggest we need to reconsider what we have been told about those who hate the Western world. The book is read by Derek Perkins, and it is flawlessly executed.
VERDICT Donald Trump, Rousseau, Voltaire, Marx, Bakunin (and others), and the forces that animate their ideas are brilliantly synthesized in this explanation for what lies beneath the rage we see flashing across our television and computer screens. Highly recommended. ["This complicated analysis of a complicated issue will appeal to readers with a background in political, economic, and philosophical history": LJ 2/1/17 review of the Farrar hc.]
Reviewed by Denis Frias, Mississauga Lib. Syst., Ont. , May 15, 2017
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