Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
New York City : Penguin Books, 2019.
Description
"Something has been going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and are afraid to speak honestly. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising--on campus as well as nationally. How did this happen? First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: What doesn't kill you makes you weaker; Always trust your feelings; and Life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths contradict basic psychological principles about well-being and ancient wisdom from many cultures. Embracing these untruths -- and the resulting culture of safetyism -- interferes with young people's social, emotional, and intellectual development. It makes it harder for them to become autonomous adults who are able to navigate the bumpy road of life. Lukianoff and Haidt investigate the many social trends that have intersected to promote the spread of these untruths. They explore changes in childhood such as the rise of fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised, child-directed play, and the new world of social media that has engulfed teenagers in the last decade. They examine changes on campus, including the corporatization of universities and the emergence of new ideas about identity and justice.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member gbill
Fantastic book which spans trends in parenting, politics, universities, and culture to analyze the forces that were at work for what some call “iGen”, kids born after 1995, as they grew up and then went to college. It also works as a guide to use Cognitive Behavioral Techniques for better
The books starts by describing three “Great Untruths” the authors believe are harming people and the country at large: (1) What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker, (2) Always trust your feelings, and (3) Life is a battle between good and evil people. It then looks at some disturbing behavior on college campuses like Berkeley, Evergreen State, and Reed College, as well as at Charlottesville. Lastly, it examines six confluent and interrelated forces that have emerged in recent times: political polarization, anxiety and depression, paranoid parenting, the decline of free play in children, college campus bureaucracy, and the quest for social justice.
Some of the more hair-raising passages were the description of events at universities, mostly those that are on the east or west coast and liberal. The authors describe various acts of censorship of ideas and a ‘call out’ culture that has many attributes of a mob, one that feeds off of the feeling of being offended and demanding speakers be disinvited, classes be shut down, articles be redacted, and professors be fired over the smallest of things, instead of keeping an open mind and engaging in debate. In one key insight into the behavior, the authors relate it to mental habits seen in people who suffer from anxiety and depression (which have risen dramatically in young people, girls particularly) – namely, exaggeration of danger and other cognitive distortions, and the suggestion solutions take a holistic approach. And, at the same time, they are careful to point out the benefits of pushing for social changes and the horrifying actions of the alt-right, including outright racism and violence.
Great stuff, very thought-provoking, and these quotes will give insight into other points the book makes:
On free speech:
“The notion that a university should protect all of its students from ideas that some of them find offensive is a repudiation of the legacy of Socrates, who described himself as the ‘gladfly’ of the Athenian people. He thought it was his job to sting, to disturb, to question, and thereby to provoke his fellow Athenians to think through their current beliefs, and change the ones they could not defend.”
On good and evil, from Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who after being sentenced to the gulags, reflected that he had nearly joined the NKVD (the forerunner of the KGB), and could just as easily have become the executioner, rather than the condemned man:
“If only it were so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.”
On inclusion, and overcoming ‘us vs. them’ thinking, the words of Pauli Murray in 1945:
“I intend to destroy segregation by positive and embracing methods … When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me, I shall draw a larger circle to include them. Where they speak out for the privileges of a puny group, I shall shout for the rights of all mankind.”
On learning, from Chief Justice John Roberts, addressing his son’s middle-school graduating class in 2017:
“From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will get lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes.”
On parenting, fostering strength in kids, referencing Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s book ‘The Black Swan’:
“Wind extinguishes a candle but energizes a fire. He advises us not to be like candles and not to turn our children into candles: ‘You want to be the fire and wish for the wind.’”
On polarization, from Julia Ebner’s, ‘The Rage: The Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism’:
“What we have is the far right depicting Islamist extremists as representatives of the whole Muslim community, while Islamist extremists depict the far right as representatives of the entire West. As the extremes [pull more people from] the political center, these ideas become mainstream, and the result is a clash-of-civilizations narrative turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
On safety, from Van Jones:
“There are two ideas about safe spaces: One is a very good idea and one is a terrible idea. The idea of being physically safe on a campus – not being subjected to sexual harassment and physical abuse, or being targeted, specifically, personally, for some kind of hate speech ‘ ‘you are the n-word,’ or whatever – I am perfectly fine with that. But there’s another view that is now I think ascendant, which I think is just a horrible view, which is that ‘I need to be safe ideologically. I need to be safe emotionally. I just need to feel good all the time, and if someone says something I don’t like, that’s a problem for everybody else, including the [university] administration.’ … I don’t want you to be safe ideologically. I don’t want you to be safe emotionally. I want you to be strong. That’s different. I’m not going to pave the jungle for you. Put on some boots, and learn how to deal with adversity. I’m not going to take all the weights out of the gym; that’s the whole point of the gym. This is the gym.”
On truth, and its importance, from Northwestern University professor Alice Dreger’s ‘Galileo’s Middle Finger’:
“Evidence really is an ethical issue, the most important ethical issue in a modern democracy. If you want justice, you must work for truth. And if you want to work for truth, you must do a little more than wish for justice.”
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mental health, and as a manifesto for free speech and the tolerance of others. I appreciated the book for its balance and careful rationality, at time when things are so polarized and skewed, and for how it avoids pointing fingers or making simplistic claims. I found great wisdom here, and it really made me think.The books starts by describing three “Great Untruths” the authors believe are harming people and the country at large: (1) What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker, (2) Always trust your feelings, and (3) Life is a battle between good and evil people. It then looks at some disturbing behavior on college campuses like Berkeley, Evergreen State, and Reed College, as well as at Charlottesville. Lastly, it examines six confluent and interrelated forces that have emerged in recent times: political polarization, anxiety and depression, paranoid parenting, the decline of free play in children, college campus bureaucracy, and the quest for social justice.
Some of the more hair-raising passages were the description of events at universities, mostly those that are on the east or west coast and liberal. The authors describe various acts of censorship of ideas and a ‘call out’ culture that has many attributes of a mob, one that feeds off of the feeling of being offended and demanding speakers be disinvited, classes be shut down, articles be redacted, and professors be fired over the smallest of things, instead of keeping an open mind and engaging in debate. In one key insight into the behavior, the authors relate it to mental habits seen in people who suffer from anxiety and depression (which have risen dramatically in young people, girls particularly) – namely, exaggeration of danger and other cognitive distortions, and the suggestion solutions take a holistic approach. And, at the same time, they are careful to point out the benefits of pushing for social changes and the horrifying actions of the alt-right, including outright racism and violence.
Great stuff, very thought-provoking, and these quotes will give insight into other points the book makes:
On free speech:
“The notion that a university should protect all of its students from ideas that some of them find offensive is a repudiation of the legacy of Socrates, who described himself as the ‘gladfly’ of the Athenian people. He thought it was his job to sting, to disturb, to question, and thereby to provoke his fellow Athenians to think through their current beliefs, and change the ones they could not defend.”
On good and evil, from Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who after being sentenced to the gulags, reflected that he had nearly joined the NKVD (the forerunner of the KGB), and could just as easily have become the executioner, rather than the condemned man:
“If only it were so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.”
On inclusion, and overcoming ‘us vs. them’ thinking, the words of Pauli Murray in 1945:
“I intend to destroy segregation by positive and embracing methods … When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me, I shall draw a larger circle to include them. Where they speak out for the privileges of a puny group, I shall shout for the rights of all mankind.”
On learning, from Chief Justice John Roberts, addressing his son’s middle-school graduating class in 2017:
“From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will get lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes.”
On parenting, fostering strength in kids, referencing Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s book ‘The Black Swan’:
“Wind extinguishes a candle but energizes a fire. He advises us not to be like candles and not to turn our children into candles: ‘You want to be the fire and wish for the wind.’”
On polarization, from Julia Ebner’s, ‘The Rage: The Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism’:
“What we have is the far right depicting Islamist extremists as representatives of the whole Muslim community, while Islamist extremists depict the far right as representatives of the entire West. As the extremes [pull more people from] the political center, these ideas become mainstream, and the result is a clash-of-civilizations narrative turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
On safety, from Van Jones:
“There are two ideas about safe spaces: One is a very good idea and one is a terrible idea. The idea of being physically safe on a campus – not being subjected to sexual harassment and physical abuse, or being targeted, specifically, personally, for some kind of hate speech ‘ ‘you are the n-word,’ or whatever – I am perfectly fine with that. But there’s another view that is now I think ascendant, which I think is just a horrible view, which is that ‘I need to be safe ideologically. I need to be safe emotionally. I just need to feel good all the time, and if someone says something I don’t like, that’s a problem for everybody else, including the [university] administration.’ … I don’t want you to be safe ideologically. I don’t want you to be safe emotionally. I want you to be strong. That’s different. I’m not going to pave the jungle for you. Put on some boots, and learn how to deal with adversity. I’m not going to take all the weights out of the gym; that’s the whole point of the gym. This is the gym.”
On truth, and its importance, from Northwestern University professor Alice Dreger’s ‘Galileo’s Middle Finger’:
“Evidence really is an ethical issue, the most important ethical issue in a modern democracy. If you want justice, you must work for truth. And if you want to work for truth, you must do a little more than wish for justice.”
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LibraryThing member Clara53
This book is so relevant to our times. I cannot stress it enough. To me, the premise is simply this phrase from the book : "PREPARE THE CHILD FOR THE ROAD, NOT THE ROAD FOR THE CHILD". It simply shouts its meaning.
Also, I have to include an excerpt, quoted by the authors, of Chief Justice John
"From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will get lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes."
Also, I have to include an excerpt, quoted by the authors, of Chief Justice John
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Robert's commencement speech at his son's graduation from middle school. It's just too brilliant! Here it is:"From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will get lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes."
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LibraryThing member Daniel.Estes
"Words can cause stress, and therefore harm, but words are not violence. Speech is not violence."
Unfortunately, this quote is quite controversial in the world today. Many will disagree with it, and many more may slightly disagree with it. And what we're left with is a slow, chipping-away of mental
"Now, the commencement speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extend good wishes to you," Roberts said. "I will not do that, and I’ll tell you why. From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty."
- Chief Justice John Roberts, from a commencement speech he gave for his son's school graduation in 2017
Another concept I wholeheartedly agree with and practice whenever I can but never knew it had a formal definition is The Principle of Charity. From Wikipedia, "In philosophy and rhetoric, the principle of charity or charitable interpretation requires interpreting a speaker's statements in the most rational way possible and, in the case of any argument, considering its best, strongest possible interpretation." I love this idea because it invests the back-and-forth of argument with the best intentions to arrive at the best possible conclusion. But it requires enlightened, far-sighted thinking from at least one of the arguing parties for it to work well.
And to borrow one more quote from the book, "Strive to be a fire in the wind, not a candle."
Unfortunately, this quote is quite controversial in the world today. Many will disagree with it, and many more may slightly disagree with it. And what we're left with is a slow, chipping-away of mental
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fortitude. It's a fine line, I understand that, because verbal and emotional abuse is a real. What is needed is some gray area overlap but how much to include and how much to leave out is an ongoing point of contention. In our effort to protect the vulnerable, we're causing others to become even more vulnerable."Now, the commencement speakers will typically also wish you good luck and extend good wishes to you," Roberts said. "I will not do that, and I’ll tell you why. From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty."
- Chief Justice John Roberts, from a commencement speech he gave for his son's school graduation in 2017
Another concept I wholeheartedly agree with and practice whenever I can but never knew it had a formal definition is The Principle of Charity. From Wikipedia, "In philosophy and rhetoric, the principle of charity or charitable interpretation requires interpreting a speaker's statements in the most rational way possible and, in the case of any argument, considering its best, strongest possible interpretation." I love this idea because it invests the back-and-forth of argument with the best intentions to arrive at the best possible conclusion. But it requires enlightened, far-sighted thinking from at least one of the arguing parties for it to work well.
And to borrow one more quote from the book, "Strive to be a fire in the wind, not a candle."
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LibraryThing member Tytania
This book does not disappoint a long-time Haidt fan. His arguments continue to be exquisitely measured and explained to appeal to any reasonable person willing to listen. He does not suffer for collaborating with co-author Lukianoff, either, who seems to have the same style.
The title makes it sound
Another subject covered in the book is the overprotectiveness of parents in our modern culture, and effects of excessive screen time on kids; they authors see these as roots of the excessive fragility of the younger generation of today's adults.
The authors hold up cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a proven successful method of dealing with depression and anxiety, and use its tenets as models of how we SHOULD be raising children and encouraging young people to deal effectively with their feelings of fragility.
Major fault: I don't understand why they felt they had to end every chapter with a summary - and then end the book with an overall summary, as well! For Pete's sake, have a little faith that I know what I just read.
The only other fault was really just a personal disappointment that there was a lot in it about raising children, and the rest was almost all about college students - I guess if I had read the description I would have been more prepared; but I selfishly wanted more things to apply to my own life.
The title makes it sound
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like it is going to be a conservative or curmudgeonly rant - "coddle" is such a smug and "when I was your age" kind of verb. But you can trust Haidt. He's very sympathetic, for example, to what even the most strident and intolerant protesters may be trying to achieve; he's just pointing out, clearly and convincingly in my opinion, how they are harming their cause more than helping. That is one major area covered in the book - college protest; and although I was familiar with many of the cases described here, such as Charles Murray's appearance in Middlebury in my home state of Vermont, I had no idea of the extent of some of the other things going on in the rest of the country, like the truly anarchic takeover of Evergreen College in Washington state. Again, don't think this is just some conservative outrage-generating listing of cases where those liberal students went too far in their political correctness. There are some eyebrow-raising incidents described here, but the authors aren't out simply to raise ire about them; but to explain where they feel things went wrong.Another subject covered in the book is the overprotectiveness of parents in our modern culture, and effects of excessive screen time on kids; they authors see these as roots of the excessive fragility of the younger generation of today's adults.
The authors hold up cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a proven successful method of dealing with depression and anxiety, and use its tenets as models of how we SHOULD be raising children and encouraging young people to deal effectively with their feelings of fragility.
Major fault: I don't understand why they felt they had to end every chapter with a summary - and then end the book with an overall summary, as well! For Pete's sake, have a little faith that I know what I just read.
The only other fault was really just a personal disappointment that there was a lot in it about raising children, and the rest was almost all about college students - I guess if I had read the description I would have been more prepared; but I selfishly wanted more things to apply to my own life.
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LibraryThing member addunn3
The authors describe recent trends, such as “safe spaces”, campus radical actions, etc. interesting ideas, though authors focus on the fringes to generalise. Some interesting suggestions for parents.
LibraryThing member jpsnow
You can tell a book resonated and provoked thought when you find youself repeatedly introducing the ideas into your discussions with others. Coddled has created such an experience for me, more so than any book I’ve read in a while. It has important points about how parenting has changed and how
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are world has become polarized in multiple ways. Most importantly, this book highlights the dangerous trend in which universities are abandoning their commitment to open discourse in reaction to the current generation of student’s demands for “safety.” Coddled is a book about what happens when the clash of ideas gets perceived as danger instead of dialogue. The authors follow their assessment with proactive ideas that could help. I found this book informative and useful. I’d recommend it to anyone concerned about liberty, education, politics, or parenting. Show Less
LibraryThing member rdwhitenack
Good, but had a hard time not being defensive during the first half of the book as it felt fairly strongly slanted against my political views. However, much of the discussion from part 3 helped to frame the ideas the authors were discussing. Would highly recommend this book from part 3 on. The
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appendixes have some excellent summarizing suggestions for students, parents, teachers and schools as to how to avoid committing the sins detailed in the book. Would like to re-read in the future to evaluate myself for another reaction. Would recommend for college bound teenagers and educators of all kinds. Show Less
LibraryThing member spothoven
Thoughts and take-aways:
1. Excellent book, though disturbing. Published in 2017, but strangely prescient of political happenings in 2020/2021. It's not just adolescents who experience the myths described in the early chapters.
2. I'm struggling with what to *do* with this information. I want to
1. Excellent book, though disturbing. Published in 2017, but strangely prescient of political happenings in 2020/2021. It's not just adolescents who experience the myths described in the early chapters.
2. I'm struggling with what to *do* with this information. I want to
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engage with students on these topics and see if they agree. I want to push against the need for safety described in the book, but I don't know that it will do any good. Show Less
LibraryThing member Devil_llama
This book started out well. It deals with many of the changes occurring in our society, and especially on campus, as the latest generation grows up to expect an environment where they are never offended or have their beliefs challenged. The authors write well, and detail the problems with excellent
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insight. It's too bad that, in their discussion of the Great Untruths passed on by adults, that they perpetrate a great untruth themselves: the untruth that no one can hurt us unless we allow them to. A socially acceptable form of victim blaming, they repeat this in close to every chapter. In addition, they are wearing blinders or are somewhat naive. In discussing why young girls have a high suicide attempt rate, they miss the most obvious reason, one frequently stated by the young women: the crap that they get every day on social media sites they are afraid to depart for fear of losing all their social life. The level of misogyny and violent threats is barely noted in the book. In addition, they seem to think the best time in the US was the period from FDR to the early 1960s, and since then, things have become too focused on "identity". In short, the best thing of all is when white men rule unchallenged, women remain in the home with few economic, social, or political rights, and people of color are segregated. I suspect this isn't really what they meant from other things they say, but in the end, the message is loud and clear. Especially when they use a couple of Title IX examples to represent poor thinking, when they don't have any data to support their position, and there is a lot of data to support the opposite position - that women are being kept out of many areas of life by misogyny, not by lack of interest. It is a common thing I see in books on critical thinking; they will do a beautiful job until they come to one particular spot, and then it all falls apart. Overall, a worthwhile book, but with significant flaws. Show Less
LibraryThing member steve02476
A lot of good stuff here to help understand what is going on in colleges these days, about free speech, trigger warnings, safe spaces, PC, etc. I think the title and some of the writing in the book is a bit awkward, but the issues are very real and they are addressed in a sensitive way.
LibraryThing member themulhern
The psychological observations are probably entirely correct. But the authors try too hard to be clever. Also, the book has aged poorly. In 2020, Democratic politicians encouraged riots that killed 20 people and destroyed neighborhoods for a generation, or perhaps for ever, all to improve their
John McWhorter's "Woke Racism" has the same defects at this book, although published a bit more recently. In that case, though, McWhorter's warm, erudite, and peculiar character still comes through, making "Woke Racism" more than bearable. "Coddling..." is the first book I've attempted by either of its authors, and their characters lend nothing to the book.
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political prospects, or possibly, just so that they could persuade themselves of their own virtue. The book explains, really well, why people would choose to do that, and praise themselves for it into the bargain. But isn't it actually evil to sacrifice the lives and well-being of so many people in that way, for so meager a cause, even when the reason why a person might do so is explained by their upbringing and education?John McWhorter's "Woke Racism" has the same defects at this book, although published a bit more recently. In that case, though, McWhorter's warm, erudite, and peculiar character still comes through, making "Woke Racism" more than bearable. "Coddling..." is the first book I've attempted by either of its authors, and their characters lend nothing to the book.
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LibraryThing member dcunning11235
Struggling with a 3 star or a 4-star rating. I think the topics here are worth 4-stars, I think parts of the discussion are worth 4 or even 5-stars... but the whole book ends up being disjointed and a bit repetitive. I would have liked more discussion/details of "safetyism" on campus: maybe more
The book itself seemed like two somewhat incomplete halves, the first about campus issues and the second about child-rearing and social attitudes about parenting and children. Altogether it came off as disjointed. The connecting thread throughout is "safetyism," but it wasn't written that way. The book suffers because of that.
That said, some of this is because the authors set a tall order for themselves. They want to talk about safetyism and its medium-term consequences, but there don't seem to be the complete statistics they would want to do that: a couple or 4 years worth of stats on college campuses, a few more than that on teen depression, etc. I'm guessing a lot of the stats about campus life, bias reports, etc. are also not readily available in any kind of usable format.
Which leaves mostly 2-star reviews from people arguing that the book is terrible because it doesn't talk enough about Nazis, or because it doesn't acknowledge the depth of racism, or because this is just old people complaining about young people, or because the authors don't like social justice (all comments that make me wonder if folks even read the book...) and 5-star reviews from people who seem to have missed all the hesitations and qualifications and the fact that the authors actually don't think that activists are coming for your kids (actually, that's probably a good chunk of the 2-star folks, too.)
I'd really love to split that difference: this really is a 3.5 book, not a 3 or a 4. I'll unhappily settle on the lower end:
3-stars.
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details of polling on attitudes, any stats or details on events and/or activity less dramatic than disinvite/deplatforming (like reporting of professors/TA's/other students for bias incidents, etc.) Some stats about campus life (diversity, student graduation rates, involvement in campus activities, etc.) to put it all in context would be useful, as well. There are tiny bits and pieces of that in there, but not enough.The book itself seemed like two somewhat incomplete halves, the first about campus issues and the second about child-rearing and social attitudes about parenting and children. Altogether it came off as disjointed. The connecting thread throughout is "safetyism," but it wasn't written that way. The book suffers because of that.
That said, some of this is because the authors set a tall order for themselves. They want to talk about safetyism and its medium-term consequences, but there don't seem to be the complete statistics they would want to do that: a couple or 4 years worth of stats on college campuses, a few more than that on teen depression, etc. I'm guessing a lot of the stats about campus life, bias reports, etc. are also not readily available in any kind of usable format.
Which leaves mostly 2-star reviews from people arguing that the book is terrible because it doesn't talk enough about Nazis, or because it doesn't acknowledge the depth of racism, or because this is just old people complaining about young people, or because the authors don't like social justice (all comments that make me wonder if folks even read the book...) and 5-star reviews from people who seem to have missed all the hesitations and qualifications and the fact that the authors actually don't think that activists are coming for your kids (actually, that's probably a good chunk of the 2-star folks, too.)
I'd really love to split that difference: this really is a 3.5 book, not a 3 or a 4. I'll unhappily settle on the lower end:
3-stars.
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
I have watched the politicizing of speech with a sense of bafflement but this book went a long way towards helping me understand this trend. It also gave me some insights into the wave of anxiety that seems to affect every young person I know. A great book for anyone raising kids to read.
Subjects
Awards
National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist — Nonfiction — 2018)
Language
Original publication date
2018
Physical description
338 p.; 22 cm
ISBN
9780141986302