American Happiness and Discontents

The Unruly Torrent, 2008-2020

By: George F. Will

Narrated by: Jim Meskimen

Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Examine the ways in which expertise, reason, and manners are continually under attack in our institutions, courts, political arenas, and social venues with this collection from the Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative columnist.

George F. Will has been one of this country’s leading columnists since 1974. He won the Pulitzer Prize for it in 1977. The Wall Street Journal once called him “perhaps the most powerful journalist in America”. In this new collection, he examines a remarkably unsettling 13 years in our nation’s experience, from 2008 to 2020. Included are a number of columns about court cases, mostly from the Supreme Court, that illuminate why the composition of the federal judiciary has become such a contentious subject.

Other topics addressed include the American Revolutionary War, historical figures from Frederick Douglass to JFK, as well as a scathing assessment of how State of the Union Addresses are delivered in the modern day. Mr. Will also offers his perspective on American socialists, anti-capitalist conservatives, drug policy, the criminal justice system, climatology, the coronavirus, the First Amendment, parenting, meritocracy and education, China, fascism, authoritarianism, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, and the morality of enjoying football. American Happiness and Discontents: The Unruly Torrent, 2008-2020 is a collection packed with wisdom and leavened by humor from one the preeminent columnists and intellectuals of our time.

©2021 George F. Will (P)2021 Hachette Books

Critic reviews

"A deeply erudite, always opinionated commentator, Will laments the erosion of literacy and advocates for binge-reading rather than binge-watching, and he parses the intricacies of recent Supreme Court cases with authority.... A gentleman scholar and scold, Will continues to wield his sharp, discerning prose." (Kirkus Reviews)

"[An] erudite and eclectic collection.... Will's eulogies of conservative leaders...are particularly rich and insightful.... Will is a consistently provocative and articulate opinion-maker. Fans will delight in this expansive survey of his recent judgments." (Publishers Weekly)

Dissapointed

I am not a conservative ideologue, yet George & I seemed to agree on several issues, which was a relief and a surprise. But in those areas in which I have some expertise (science) it revealed Will to be an excellent wordsmith but not a vessel of wisdom. He repeated some facts & quoted someone but came up with the wrong conclusion -even though this was not a political issue.
G Will knows lots of people and many words, but he never put one or several essays to the task of wisdom & insight, only partisanship and attack.
A great opportunity not taken.

Heard on Ben Shapiro- had to buy!

I've only heard the first chapters so far but this guy is amazing! Glad I heard his insights on Ben Shapiro 's show.

The author crosses a line by slamming the DSM-5

A sleepy narrator dilutes an already narcissistic author. One whom uses unnecessarily wordy language to articulate (being generous) his thesis.

Hopes of a cogent conservative argument is instead met with a rather overly verbose read.

Will's belittling of the DSM-5 is a shock to the readers system. A disappointing and wasteful spend of coin.

Brilliant and Droll

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading George Will . His brilliant thoughts and incisive stories are magnificent. His drollery is sublime
My only critique is hard to avoid in a book of this nature— some stories are repetitive.

One of my favorites of 2021

Damn!! George Will can write. I listen to this book all the time! This man is brilliant and so well spoken. His attacks on both parties are on point. This guy can smell hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance from a mile away. I am a big George Will fan. This book is a reprint of many of Mr. Will's best writings from around 2012 to now. There isn't a central theme, which makes this book readable from anywhere within the book. I read/listen to 100 books a year and this was one of the best for 2021. The narrator is always really good here, so good, I actually looked for other books he had narrated. I had never done that before.

Emotional and Thought Provoking

The organization of these once powerful opinion articles is thought provoking. Will’s writing is piercing. I recommend it to all who want to see the past through his eyes and maybe prevent us from reliving history.

Exceptionally brilliant

...a wonderful tapestry upon how we arrived... uniquely thought-provoking, each expose is a journey through bits of history that have outsized meaning to us individually or collectively whether lead or accepting to follow, whether as onlooker or participant...

A little too republican for my taste.

A good look into how America works.
Sometimes the authors view is a little too republican for my taste.
But overall an interesting and well written book.