ABSTRACT
My local bookshop is not as much fun as it used to be. So many titles on display seem to be signs of times gone wrong, of an American culture in decline. So many titles betray nostalgia for happier days. I might dismiss my impressions as native glumness if the signs were not so many and did not point so resolutely in one direction. If nothing is wrong, why are so many thoughtful people saying the same thing in so many different ways? I shall consider a few well-known titles:
