<p>"May you live in interesting times" has taken on a new alarming meaning. We've all heard commentators saying "you can't make this stuff up." These "times" have all the elements of Absurdism and, thus, the main title of this book, "Waiting for Someone to Explain It." It is a term expressed by playwright Eugene Ionesco, who said "As the world is incomprehensible to me, I'm waiting for someone to explain it." The book's subtitle, "The Rise of Contempt and Decline of Sense" narrows the "world" down to American politics, cultural values and fiscal affairs at the onset of the 21st century. Its author, Robert Hagelstein, maintained a blog during this period, contemporaneously commenting on, and documenting, the datum of this rise and fall. In "Waiting for Someone to Explain It; The Rise of Contempt and Decline of Sense," he chronologically presents them and weaves a narrative which reads as a whodunit but without a singular smoking gun. There are many, and one intersects with another, resulting in the normalization of contemptible behavior and the inexplicable abandonment of fiscal and legislative common sense. Be prepared to meet the major players in this drama; Environmental Issues, Trumpism, Obama Hope, Gun Control (or the lack of) and Mass Shootings, Income Inequality, Racial Issues, Tax Reform, the Financial Crisis and Deficit Spending, Societal Polarization, Government Impairment, Stock Market Decline and Recovery, Inflation Vs. Deflation, Foreign Relations, Election Primaries and Rigging, Job Creation, Gaslighting and Fake News, Celebrity Culture and Anti-Intellectualism (to name a few). These players come and go in the drama, rising and falling on the sea of news cycles that assault societal consciousness. Even though the book does not purport to have the "answers" reading "Waiting for Someone to Explain It" is a compelling argument that "we have met the enemy and he is us. "Thoughtful and wise, Robert Hagelstein's 'Waiting for Someone to Explain It, ' offers an illuminating, much-needed depiction of how we have arrived at our current politically contemptuous state - and how the party of austerity has given the U.S. its largest and steadily growing deficit. Must reading for anyone interested in the political and economic challenges currently facing our country." ....Ron Chambers, Former Director, Naval Institute Press "Bob Hagelstein has the gift of being able to seamlessly weave whimsical commentary about our daily lives with insightful observations about our turbulent times. Reading 'Waiting for Someone to Explain It' is like sitting down to dinner with dear friends - the conversation just goes where it goes, sometimes serious or poignant, other times ironic or funny. Bob has graced us with musings on the blog from which this book draws for more than a decade now. In a way, I don't want 'someone to explain it, ' because reading Bob's efforts to figure it all out while he's waiting is far more enriching and entertaining. ......David Einhorn, Editor, writer, and professional musician. "On one level 'Waiting for Someone to Explain It' chronicles with Pepysian precision the political and cultural progress of our time. Hagelstein's sharp sense of the absurd allows both penetrating commentary and humor. Our own days are enhanced as we meet the author commenting on events readers knew or witnessed. .....Bruce Rettman, former Co-director of the Boston Writing Project and NEH Hemingway scholar English Department Chair</p>

Waiting for Someone to Explain It: The Rise of Contempt and Decline of Sense

History

Hagelstein, Robert

Americas

Lacunae Musing

<p>First hand accounts of history are windows into the past. Imagine what it must have been like to live and travel in the northeastern corridor of the United States during the nation's formative years in the 1840's. Here are selections from two works written only four years apart during that decade, Dickens' American Notes (1842) and D. Appleton &amp; Co.'s The American Guide Book (1846). The juxtaposition of the Guide's observations to those of Dickens is a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. The self-professed objective of the Guide's editors: "comprehensiveness with brevity being essential qualities for a work of this kind, all extraneous matter has been omitted, and it is hoped the work will be found to consist of all that is likely to be useful or interesting to travelers." Dickens is one of those travelers, but his coverage of the same areas is more idiosyncratic, and frequently observed with a comic eye unique to Dickens. What emerges between the two is a fascinating portrait of a nation, which although still in its infancy, is recognized as being destined for greatness. According to the Guide, "If they continue united [the States] they will then become the greatest nation in the world; and the most powerful of the states of Europe would rank as secondary to them." Dickens makes more opinionated observations. On the one hand he can be highly complimentary of the American character: "They are, by nature, frank, brave, cordial, hospitable, and affectionate. Cultivation and refinement seem but to enhance their warmth of heart and ardent enthusiasm; and it is the possession of these latter qualities in a most remarkable degree, which renders an educated American one of the most endearing and most generous of friends." He has problems, however, with Americans as well, their cleanliness, their boorishness, the muckraking, "licentious" nature of their Press, and, in particular, the odious institution of Slavery. Ultimately, Dickens' trip inspired parts of Martin Chuzzlewit, which he would write soon after his return. The book begins with Dickens' hilarious depiction (but terrifying as well) of his journey to the United States on The President, an American steam vessel, including going aground in the Halifax harbor. We then travel with him and with our guide from Appleton throughout the New York City vicinity, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, by carriage, steamboat, ferry, and railroad. We are first-hand witnesses to the people, transportation systems and the everyday life of America in the 1840's. Together these selections put the reader into the presence of a fascinating past and make of the journey a virtual entry into the gritty, exciting days of 19th-century traveling.</p>

New York To Boston: Travels In The 1840's

Confrontation Pr Liu

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Books by Hagelstein, Robert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hagelstein, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Waiting for Someone to Explain It: The Rise of Contempt and Decline of Sense

New York To Boston: Travels In The 1840's