This book had the biggest ratings spread of any book we’ve ever covered. One person gave it a 10/10, another gave it a 1/10, and most people landed in the 5–6/10 neighborhood.

The author explores how challenging it can be to live in the West today—how, in this era of prosperity, technological advancement, and convenience, that horror, death, and tragedy still surround us… all separated by a thin veil. One thing we did agree on was the overall assessment of the book: the author observes the complexity of modern life and then spirals around it for hundreds of pages—reaching no specific conclusion. There’s a lot of admiring the problem in this thing, and not much in the way of practical solutions or recommendations. 

Those who rated it the highest felt it brought well-earned focus to the cognitive dissonance that people in the West rely on to navigate daily life, and appreciated how it highlighted the nuances of the terrible things happening around the world, which could all use a bigger and broader spotlight. 

Those who didn’t like the book felt it read as a self-congratulatory defense of the author’s personal choices, offered no meaningful new information, and lacked concrete recommendations for addressing the major problems of our time. In the end, it came off as depressing—without a purpose.

We did all agree that there are probably better books on the issues that this one covers. 

BUY THIS BOOK