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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 917.3 EAN: 9780394703176 ISBN: 0394703170 Label: Vintage Manufacturer: Vintage Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 464 Publication Date: February 12, 1966 Publisher: Vintage Release Date: February 12, 1966 Studio: Vintage Related Items:
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 Rating:  - Flawed But InformativeThe basic argument of Richard Hofstadter's "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life" is that the blessings of American popular democracy have been mixed. On the one hand, the United States has evolved into a nation of hard-working, practical-minded people suspicious of anything in politics, religion, or society that strikes them as "aristocratic." The average American relies on and appreciates "inborn, intuitive, folkish wisdom" as opposed to "European" standards that recall the "cultivated, oversophisticated, ... Read More Rating:  - Helpful in making sense of the U.S.A.Most other reviewers have pointed out how relevant this book still is, more than forty years after it was published. Hofstadter's most important contribution is that he identifies and gives a name to a major feature of the American character. Parts of the book are dry and long-winded and can be slow going. Other than the discussion of evangelical Christian sects, Hofstadter focuses on the intellectual in society, with less attention to popular or mass attitudes and behavior. He makes some very perceptive remarks ... Read More Rating:  - The Contemplative LifeLargeness of mind (my definition of intellect) is very rare. Hofstadter deplored the narrowing of the American mind that resulted not just from the democritization of the university (and knowledge) but from the reformulation of its mission to suit American interests. The life of the mind suffers when the only nonpartisan value existent is market value. Knowledges that produce wealth are the ones that are held in highest esteem. Knowledges that produce no measurable material gain are considered irrelevant. By making ... Read More Rating: - Old FriendLast time I read this book I was travelling by plane from Charleston W. Va to Knoxville TN, in fall of 1968. The book was so fascinating that I read most of it non stop during the ride and waiting to change plans at a small mountain airport. The book suited my mood and my contemplations of society at that time. Unfortunately, I left the book on the plane when I arrived at my destination. I made mental note to buy it back, but never did, until reding another recent book on a kindred theme. On re-reading, I noticed that ... Read More Rating: - Beam me up ScottyHofstadter's book was published in 1963, a period when I was a timid third grader, hands crossed, attending a Catholic school in suburban Detroit. As I fast forward to today, thinking back at the state of intellectualism in the days of Camelot, besieged as it was by the ever present threat of nuclear attack, a spirit of intellectual discovery from the the depths of the seas to farthest reaches of space enthralled America's collective imagination; I cannot help but liken the state of today's critical thought to that of ... Read More 
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