From the bestselling author of What's the Matter With Kansas, a scathing look at the standard-bearers of liberal politics -- a book that asks: what's the matter with Democrats? It is a widespread belief among liberals that if only Democrats can continue to dominate national elections, if only those awful Republicans are beaten into submission, the country will be on the right course. But this is to fundamentally misunderstand the modern Democratic Party. Drawing on years of research and first-hand reporting, Frank points out that the Democrats have done little to advance traditional liberal goals: expanding opportunity, fighting for social justice, and ensuring that workers get a fair deal. Indeed, they have scarcely dented the free-market consensus at all. This is not for lack of opportunity: Democrats have occupied the White House for sixteen of the last twenty-four years, and yet the decline of the middle class has only accelerated. Wall Street gets its bailouts, wages keep falling, and the free-trade deals keep coming. With his trademark sardonic wit and lacerating logic, Frank's Listen, Liberal lays bare the essence of the Democratic Party's philosophy and how it has changed over the years. A form of corporate and cultural elitism has largely eclipsed the party's old working-class commitment, he finds. For certain favored groups, this has meant prosperity. But for the nation as a whole, it is a one-way ticket into the abyss of inequality. In this critical election year, Frank recalls the Democrats to their historic goals-the only way to reverse the ever-deepening rift between the rich and the poor in America.
One of "our most insightful social observers"* cracks the great political mystery of our time: how conservatism, once a marker of class privilege, became the creed of millions of ordinary Americans With his acclaimed wit and acuity, Thomas Frank turns his eye on what he calls the "thirty-year backlash"—the populist revolt against a supposedly liberal establishment. The high point of that backlash is the Republican Party's success in building the most unnatural of alliances: between blue-collar Midwesterners and Wall Street business interests, workers and bosses, populists and right-wingers. In asking "what 's the matter with Kansas?"—how a place famous for its radicalism became one of the most conservative states in the union—Frank, a native Kansan and onetime Republican, seeks to answer some broader American riddles: Why do so many of us vote against our economic interests? Where's the outrage at corporate manipulators? And whatever happened to middle-American progressivism? The questions are urgent as well as provocative. Frank answers them by examining pop conservatism—the bestsellers, the radio talk shows, the vicious political combat—and showing how our long culture wars have left us with an electorate far more concerned with their leaders' "values" and down-home qualities than with their stands on hard questions of policy. A brilliant analysis—and funny to boot—What's the Matter with Kansas? presents a critical assessment of who we are, while telling a remarkable story of how a group of frat boys, lawyers, and CEOs came to convince a nation that they spoke on behalf of the People. *Los Angeles Times
In a book that has been raising hackles far and wide, the social critic Thomas Frank skewers one of the most sacred cows of the go-go '90s: the idea that the new free-market economy is good for everyone. Frank's target is "market populism"—the widely held belief that markets are a more democratic form of organization than democratically elected governments. Refuting the idea that billionaire CEOs are looking out for the interests of the little guy, he argues that "the great euphoria of the late nineties was never as much about the return of good times as it was the giddy triumph of one America over another." Frank is a latter-day Mencken, as readers of his journal The Baffler and his book The Conquest of Cool know. With incisive analysis, passionate advocacy, and razor-sharp wit, he asks where we are headed—and whether we're going to like it when we get there.
Tack and Richardson show you how to start with a batch of plain cupcakes, and turn them into fun creations such as robots, farm- or zoo-animals, and even a cookie village! --Adapted from back cover.
This is the story of Thomas Frank Christian, the doubter. He was brought up on a farm, and influenced by his local pastor, he enters the minor seminary at the age of thirteen to study to become a Roman Catholic priest. We follow him through some ups and downs into the major seminary, where he is sexually attacked by his roommate. Tom goes on to be ordained. He serves six years in suburban parishes and spends many hours working with juveniles and adults who are in trouble with the law. He also begins to question many of the requirements of his church. Some of the questions turn into doubts, and he looks seriously at the need for obligatory celibacy. In his ecumenical contacts with married ministers and rabbis, he decides there is no justifiable reason not to be married and have a family. He goes to the archbishop and tells him he is ready to leave the priesthood. He gives the archbishop six months' notice. Tom goes through a difficult documented process to leave the priesthood, but eventually, Pope Paul VI grants his release to become a layman. A week after resigning, he starts a career in the field of criminal justice as a probation counselor. He spends thirty-five years working in three states, writes three books in his field, and mediates victim-and-offender cases on 48 Hours, HBO, and National Public Radio. Tom is married in a private ceremony to prevent scandal. He and his wife have three children and five grandchildren. In 2019, they celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary. The book ends with a series of questions and doubts about modern-day religion.
With his acclaimed wit and acuity, Thomas Frank here turns his eye on what he calls the 'thirty-year backlash' - the common man's revolt against a supposedly liberal establishment. He charts the Republican party's success in building the most unnatural of alliances- between blue-collar Midwesterners and Wall Street business interests; between workers and bosses; between populists and right-wingers. Taking the state of Kansas as a paradigm, Frank describes how a place famous for its radicalism became one of the most conservative states in the union and, writing as a native Kansan and onetime Republican, seeks to answer some broader American riddles- why do so many of us vote against our economic and social interests? And whatever happened to middle-American progressivism? Frank reveals the true story, showing how voters have been persuaded to elevate 'values' and down-home qualities - lavishly attributed to the current occupant of the White House - above hard questions of policy. A brilliant analysis, and funny to boot, What's the Matter with America? - published in advance of the US Presidential elections - presents a critical assessment of the state of America today, while telling a remarkable story of how a group of frat boys, lawyers, and CEOs came to convince a nation that they spoke on behalf of the People.
From the bestselling author of "What's the Matter with Kansas?" comes a wonderfully insightful and sardonic look at why the worst economy since the 1930s has brought about the revival of conservatism. Economic catastrophe usually brings social protest and demands for change--or at least it's supposed to. In "Pity the Billionaire," Frank, the great chronicler of American paradox, examines the peculiar mechanism by which dire economic circumstances have delivered wildly unexpected political results.
From the bestselling author of What's The Matter With Kansas?, an exposé of the Washington conservatism has built: how it works, how it doesn't, and why it's here to stay
Thomas Frank has been sending wake-up calls to just about everyone within reach over the past decade, in venues from The Village Voice to Harper's. His takes on labor politics, advertising, the virtues of the Midwest, and how un-cool you really are have won him a wide audience, and in this piece, Frank gives us a reading of cultural studies—viewed by some as an important new perspective in the academy, but by others as an unwieldy theoretical fad.
Brilliantly designed and bursting with an eclectic range of material, the Baffler is a literary journal with a difference, juxtaposing visual images with a dynamic range of writings. From history to poetry, social and political commentary to fiction, THE BAFFLER is the critically acclaimed pubication for all avid followers of contemporary culture.
From the prophetic author of the now-classic What’s the Matter with Kansas? and Listen, Liberal, an eye-opening account of populism, the most important—and misunderstood—movement of our time. Rarely does a work of history contain startling implications for the present, but in The People, No Thomas Frank pulls off that explosive effect by showing us that everything we think we know about populism is wrong. Today “populism” is seen as a frightening thing, a term pundits use to describe the racist philosophy of Donald Trump and European extremists. But this is a mistake. The real story of populism is an account of enlightenment and liberation; it is the story of American democracy itself, of its ever-widening promise of a decent life for all. Taking us from the tumultuous 1890s, when the radical left-wing Populist Party—the biggest mass movement in American history—fought Gilded Age plutocrats to the reformers’ great triumphs under Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Frank reminds us how much we owe to the populist ethos. Frank also shows that elitist groups have reliably detested populism, lashing out at working-class concerns. The anti-populist vituperations by the Washington centrists of today are only the latest expression. Frank pummels the elites, revisits the movement’s provocative politics, and declares true populism to be the language of promise and optimism. The People, No is a ringing affirmation of a movement that, Frank shows us, is not the problem of our times, but the solution for what ails us.
There is a poetic expression here for anyone who has ever fallen in love, who has pined for someone, who has loved without being loved back, who has been cheated on, or who has felt confused in love. Many lines have a country music lyrical feel; they yearn for a simpler time and are not distracted by modernity. Personal portraits are peppered throughout the book with quotes about love and life. These needlessly pull attention away from the poetry.
Frank At Home On The Farm is an unsettling and engrossing, psychological horror, mystery set in the early 1920s. Part Lynchian nightmare, part Cronenbergian body horror, written by Jordan Thomas and Illustrated by Clark Bint, published by Scout Comics. Frank Cross returns from World War 1 badly damaged by his experiences and wanting nothing more than to settle back down with his family at their farm. However, upon arrival he discovers his family missing. Frank’s search for answers only heightens his fear and anxiety as townspeople struggle to remember anything about his parents or brother and he’s confronted with nothing but dead ends. All the while Frank’s desperation grows he becomes more and more aware of the bizarre behavior of the farm’s animals. They seem to be watching his every move, gathering at night and sometimes Frank can swear he even hears them speak. Frank feels crazy just thinking it…but could they have something to do with his family’s disappearance?
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