In Defense of Elitism
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
In Defense of Elitism
By (Author) William A. Henry
Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc
Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group
1st August 1995
United States
Classifications
General
Non Fiction
305.52
Physical Properties
Paperback
224
Width 133mm, Height 202mm, Spine 13mm
191g
Description
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning culture criticfor Time magazine comes thetremendously controversial, yet highly persuasive,argument that our devotion to the largelyunexamined myth of egalitarianism lies at the heart of theongoing "dumbing of America." Americans have always stubbornly clung to themyth of egalitarianism, of the supremacy of theindividual average man. But here, at long last,Pulitzer Prize-winning critic William A. Henry IIItakes on, and debunks, some basic, fundamentallyingrained ideas- that everyone is pretty much alike(and should be); that self-fulfillment is moreimortant thant objective achievement; that everyonehas something significant to contribute; that allcultures offer something equally worthwhile; thata truly just society would automatically produceequal success results across lines of race,class, and gender; and that the common man is almostalways right. Henry makes clear, in a book full ofvivid examples and unflinching opinions, thatwhile these notions are seductively democratic theyare also hopelessly wrong.
Reviews
"Apassionate yet reasoned argument for the propositionthat some people simply contribute more to societythan others. It challenges head-on thepresumptions and platitudes of government, academia, andeven private industry." -- TheAtlanta Journal Constitution.
"A wide-ranging, free-swinging commentary that willraise the hackles of nearly everyone." --New York Times.
"Bracing... eloquent testimony that what killedliberalism in this country is a deeply misguidedegalitarianism." -- The New York TimesBook Review.
Author Bio
William A. Henry III was a culture critic for Time magazine whose writing earned two Pulizer Prizes- one in 1980 for criticism and one he shared in 1975 for coverage of school desegregation in Boston. His books include Visions of America, Jack Benny- The Radio and Television Years,The Great One- The Life and Legend of Jackie Gleason, and In Defense of Elitism. Mr. Henry passed away in June 1994.
