American Yearnings
Instead of careful, modest observations upon precisely delimited subjects, this book proposes some new ways of thinking about war, capitalism, sex, race, and marriage in the United States. It suggests some novel notions about the American people and comments on the society overall, such as in the chapter called 'Heeeeeerre's America: The Showbiz Culture.' These observations gather around the theme of the title, asking, 'What, finally, do Americans want out of life?' While, in short, the answer is 'everything, ' fuller exploration takes the reader into the realms of personal psychology, into private fantasies as well as private strategies. The author, who is both a professional historian and a psychotherapist, playfully and ironically analyzes the presence of 'positive thinking' and its simplistic view of how the world works