“Well-written and well-researched, anyone who lived through the VW Beetle‘s heyday on the American road will find the book fascinating and illuminating.
I personally had a 1964 Beetle as my first car in college; it was a glutton for punishment and an icon of the period in which I drove it. The fact that it had a standard transmission meant that it was of no real interest to would-be car thieves and it took me all across the mid-Atlantic and New England sections of the United States.
The historical aspects of the book are well-written, but it’s only after the defeat of Nazi Germany and the marketing of the vehicle in the US that the book really comes into its own.
Highly recommended” (Four stars out of a possible five.)
“Mark Leibovich is an able and talented writer who should probably be writing something more suited to his gifts. That said, however, it’s worth noting that what he has written in “This Town” is nothing if not necessary and it should be required reading for every American who scratches his head and wonders why “nothing ever changes within the Beltway.”
Although the tone of the book is almost blisteringly cynical, what Leibovich has to say is important and necessary. Like most strong medicine, it may not be pleasant tasting, but it is something the reader must be willing to endure if he is going to come out at the other end of the experience any better for it.
The author recognizes no sacred cows and in the long run, we must thank him. What’s wrong with Washington isn’t a Democratic problem or a Republican problem but a problem of human nature and an entrenched media-political oligarchy.
Not exactly suitable reading for a high school civics class, but recommended nevertheless. If enough people manage to get angry, maybe some things will change…” (Four-and-a-half stars out of a possible five.)
Related articles
- New York Times Correspondent: ‘There’s No Such Thing as Democrats and Republicans Anymore’ (theblaze.com)
- Washington’s ‘warm bath’ of celebrity and self-interest (amanpour.blogs.cnn.com)
jaypochapin 