The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

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George Packer

History

Dec 16, 2019

Matt Pavia thinks Packer's book, The Unwinding, belongs on the list of Books to Read Before You Die, and he told the audience why during the December 5, 2019 Battle at Barrett Bookstore in Darien, CT.

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Matt Pavia

Dec 18, 2019

“No one can say when the Unwinding began—when the coil that held Americans together in its secure and sometimes stifling grip first gave way.” This epic narrative history of “the new America,” much closer to a novel in its emphasis on individual lives and its prose style, tracks the myriad political, economic, industrial, and cultural shifts in the U.S. over the last forty years from the perspectives of three main “characters”: an African American woman trying to survive in post-Industrial Youngstown, Ohio; a once-idealistic D.C. politico who worked for Joe Biden and then a major lobbying firm; and a down-on-his-luck but resilient southern entrepreneur with dreams of greatness that never quite pay off. Not particularly excellent, virtuous, or flawed, these three are tossed about by the forces of this Unwinding, protected only with their resilience. These three stories alternate with short profiles of some of the most famous and infamous figures in late 20th-early 21st century life: Newt Gingrich, Jay-A, Elizabeth Warren, Sam Walton, Peter Thiel, Colin Powell, Andrew Breitbart, and more. It also chronicles the Silicon Valley tech boom, the Tampa real estate bubble, and the Wall Street collapse of recent years. The picture that emerges from Packer’s masterpiece is one of a nation that is freer and yet less equal, more inclusive but also more stratified – where institutions that once supported middle-class aspirations have eroded, leaving everyone to fend for themselves.

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