The Unwinding

"Working for Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me! I sometimes forget not everything’s a laugh riot. So to get my fix of the current depressing state of American affairs, I turned to George Packer’s The Unwinding. The gist of the book is that everything we once held dear in America is unraveling thanks to giant institutions and normal-size people who love money too much. Wal-Mart; Oprah; Tampa, Fla.; Silicon Valley; Washington lobbyists; and Jay Z all factor in here somewhere. But with each bad guy comes a tale of someone working tirelessly to undo some of the damage. It’s the community organizer in Ohio or the journalist in Florida who offers the reader some hope. That said, do not read immediately before a holiday party if you don’t want your joyful spirit crushed."