The Age of Grievance

3.5/5, rounded up.

Frank Bruni writes a coherent and fair evaluation of the myriad ways Grievance is weaponized in recent times, particularly by and against Americans. That an excessive, malevolent Grievance exists in our modern United States is not terribly revelatory, but Bruni does provide both a depth and a nuance that makes the book worthwhile.

The author's proposed solutions, while perfectly sensible, feel both big and too small. The systemic solutions are daunting to the point of impossibility, and the personal solutions are so small one struggles to imagine them influencing the larger system.

That criticism aside, this is an important book as a signpost of the mid-2020's. Recommended reading for all Americans.