SKU: 1534019822

What's the Matter with White People?: Why We Long for a Golden Age That Never Was

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What's the Matter with White People?: Why We Long for a Golden Age That Never Was""In this wonderfully insightful book, Joan Walsh shows how America built a large and vibrant (although mostly white) middle class that fueled the greatest economic boom in history and made a reality of the American dream. Hers is the story of postwar America told through a working class New York Irish Catholic family whose political divisions mirrored the nation's. Moving and powerful, her account will help people of all races think through how we

""In this wonderfully insightful book, Joan Walsh shows how America built a large and vibrant (although mostly white) middle class that fueled the greatest economic boom in history and made a reality of the American dream. Hers is the story of postwar America told through a working class New York Irish Catholic family whose political divisions mirrored the nation's. Moving and powerful, her account will help people of all races think through how we can build a just and prosperous multiracial America."" --Robert B. Reich

""A brilliant and illuminating book about America since the upheavals of the '60s and '70s. What's the Matter with White People? is about the heart and soul of America, from our Founding Fathers to Hillary and Barack.It's about our middle class, which so recently flourished, and how it has been injured and diminished almost beyond repair by greed and racist fear-mongering. It's about America's greatness and delusion, the betrayal of the working class, and the fragmentation of the Democratic party. It's about how Walsh's own Irish Catholic family from New York was treated, responded and fared in the years between Richard Nixon and Barack Obama Walsh writes with passion, precision, and insight into how racism has made such a bold public comeback. Her book was heaven for a political junkie like me, somehow managing to be painful and exhilarating at the same time."" --Anne Lamott

""Joan Walsh's reflections and observations from her personal journey as an Irish Catholic daughter of a Northeastern blue collar family provide a unique window into the hearts, aspirations, anguish, anger, fears, and pride of white working class voters during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. No one can properly understand current class politics and race relations in America unless they've read this book."" --Dr. Clarence B. Jones

The size and stability of the American middle class were once the envy of the world. But changes unleashed in the 1960s pitted Americans against one another politically in new and destructive ways. These battles continued to rage from that day to now, while everyone has fallen behind economically except the wealthy. Right-wing culture warriors blamed the decline on the moral shortcomings of ""other"" Americans--black people, feminists, gays, immigrants, union members--to court a fearful white working- and middle-class base with ever more bitter ""us vs. them"" politics. Liberals tried, but mostly failed, to make the case that we're all in this together.

In What's the Matter with White People?, popular Salon columnist Joan Walsh argues that the biggest divide in America today is not about party or ideology, but about two competing narratives for why everything has fallen apart since the 1970s. One side sees an America that has spent the last forty years bankrupting the country providing benefits and advantages to the underachieving, the immoral, and the undeserving, no matter the cost to Middle America. The other sees an America that has spent the last forty years bankrupting the country providing benefits and advantages to the very rich, while allowing a measure of cultural progress for the different and the downtrodden. It matters which side is right, and how the other side got things so wrong.

Walsh connects the dots of American decline through trends that began in the 1970s and continue today--including the demise of unions, the stagnation of middle-class wages, the extension of the right's ""Southern Strategy"" throughout the country, the victory of Reagan Republicanism, the increase in income inequality, and the drop in economic mobility.

Citing her extended family as a case in point, Walsh shows how liberals unwittingly collaborated in the ""us vs. them"" narrative, rather than developing an inspiring, persuasive vision of a more fair, united America. She also explores how the GOP's renewed culture war

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 08/01/2012
ISBN: 9781118141069
Pages: 278
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.20w x 1.00d

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SKU: 1534019822

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Tasha U
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 5
Good quality dog ball for playing fetch
Size: Medium
My dog and family love these chuck it balls to play fetch with our dog. They are durable and fun. They squeak which is added fun for any dog! Regular tennis balls my dog chews apart and they get pretty gross after playing and being left outside. These can be easily washed off and cleaned. These balls last! Would recommend to anyone with a dog and would purchase again.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2025
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ryan johnson
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
Tough and sturdy
Size: Medium
Have lasted my dog for years now and she is a tough chewer. Worth the money
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Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2025
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Susan
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
Keeps dogs busy.
Color: Orange
The dogs love this ball. They are afraid when it vibrates but as soon as it jumps and moves around, they are on it. They will play with it for quite awhile. Charge lasts for a long time. Very durable. This dog can tear anything apart but it's still in one piece.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2026
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Donna E.
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 1
Bad purchase 10 minute playtime
Color: Orange
This ball was bigger than the usual tennis ball size. It did not hold a charge longer than 10 minutes. The texture was softer but not worth buying for 20 minutes of fun 🙁
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Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2026
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Anderson
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 5
Good for smaller jawed dogs.
Color: Orange
This ball is so much fun for our 5 month old. He both chases it and lets it bounce in his mouth. This was after playing with it already for 10 minutes. The ball charges with a usb charger and lasts for a long time. I do take it away to keep the toy fresh and prevent him from just chewing on it. I will say the ball startles you a bit when it turns on in your hand. Happy with a different toy.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2026

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