GEORGE PACKERis the quintessential establishment liberal intellectual: a
staff writer at/The Atlantic/, and before that/The New Yorker/; the
author of a dozen books of both fiction and nonfiction; a National Book
Award winner and a Pulitzer finalist; aco-drafter
<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/arts/harpers-letter.html>of last
year’s infamous/Harper’s/letter in support of free speech and open
debate; a repentant supporter of the Iraq War; and aself-described
<https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/29/books/the-independent-of-london.html>member
of “the Orwell cult.” His previous two books,/The Unwinding/(2013)—a
kaleidoscopic reported account of the failure of the American dream over
the previous several decades—and/Our Man/(2019)—a juicy biography of the
late diplomat Richard Holbrooke and a history of American folly abroad
from Vietnam to Afghanistan, which Ireviewed
<https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/richard-holbrooke-our-man-george-packer-book-review/>for/The
Nation/—shared similar virtues and flaws. Both were elegantly written
and peopled by memorable characters, famous and obscure, whose stories
shed light on the contradictions of contemporary America. Both were also
undermined by Packer’s insistent need to defend the mid-century American
social contract and a set of high-minded ideals that he acknowledges
America has never come close to living up to.
https://thebaffler.com/latest/american-fables-klion
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