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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