Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
I can't decide if this title represents "the dismaying coarsening of public discourse that increasingly characterizes our political life and prompted the founding of Ricochet as a response" or "really brilliant marketing, because I guess even I'm curious enough now to think vaguely about ordering the book."
From what I can tell, the book doesn't say anything new:
In Becoming China’s Bitch, Peter D. Kiernan presents an unflinching exploration of five factors that keep us frozen– an infrastructure of divide. His straightforward mantra is this: understanding what paralyzes us is the only way we can thaw out. He then uncovers ten challenges, all of which pose great threat to our future—all of which are resolvable if we summon our characteristic American grit and determination. Presented with fresh information from a lively perspective, these ten impending catastrophes include our semi-conscious dependence on China, our lack of a coordinated intelligence effort, our downward- spiraling health-care system, our missing-in-action energy policy, the continually expanding problem of illegal immigration, and our propensity to incarcerate rather than educate our citizenry.
Apart from the title, I'm not seeing anything else that would make me cross the street to find out more. According to Foreign Policy, the author "literally believe[s] that we have been opiated as a nation." I'm puzzling a bit over that one: Does the adverb "literally" apply to the verb "believe?" Might he mean "strongly" believe? Or does it modify the the verb "opiate?" And since when is "opiate" a verb? If the latter, I wonder if he reveals the mechanism in the book--has this happened by means of something like fluoride in the water? Did China opiate us? If not, who?
I suppose if you call yourself a "radical centrist," as he does, you have to make the title do a lot of work for you. But it sort of does.
(Thanks to A.E.K. for pointing this gem out.)
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Oct '10
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
Stick a fork in 'literal', it's 'literally' done as a useful word, doncha know. There's no good replacement either.
Feb '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
Aw, shoot! I was hoping this book was a spin-off from The Shaggy Dog.
Mar '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
When I need a verbal stutter, I tend to go with "really" or "seriously." When I write, I go back over the words and try to decide whether or not what I wrote sounds like what I would say. Adverbs frequently get lopped off at that point, but not always. The abuse of "literally" is literally annoying, and I notice it more all the time.
Mar '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
"Literally" is driving me up the wall. I'm even hearing it on podcasts by supposedly educated folks. Readers, please stop using this adverb. I'm 99% sure you are using it wrong. Now don't get me started on "jury-rigged." Or putting punctuation outside the terminal quotation mark.
Mar '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
But as far as buying this particular book goes, I'll pass for now. I still have my Christmas haul to go through. I just started VDH's The End of Sparta. I don't know whether to go to The Storm of War by Andrew Roberts, or Socrates in the City: Conversations on "God, Life, and Other Small Topics" edited by Eric Metaxas next.
Mar '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
From the author’s blog:
“We have become a frozen tableau of contrasts” – A frozen tableau? Tautological or just a poorly written sentence?
“We’ve also become so anodyne to the real problems that we either falsify new ones...” – falsify new ones? Do you mean get drawn aside by false ones? I don't think you mean "disprove" or "alter fraudulently" here.....File with 'opiate'.
“…or worse, we treat them [problems] like dry-cleaning and have them done for us”—Wait, we do? Wouldn’t that mean our dry cleaning got done [problems solved]? How does that square with “we are frozen in other ways. Some call our polarization and inability to unit against problems a crisis in governance.” Uh hrm.
“It is also about getting our mojo back”. Ah, yes, glad we cleared that up. I was concerned there for a bit that our national mojo deficit would fail to be broached.....
Feb '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
I've borrowed Storm of War from the library and am reading it now. Great read so far (I'm in Russia with the German invasion, so near the front of the book).
May '10
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
You are fundamentally right.
Mar '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
Mama Toad
I've borrowed Storm of War from the library and am reading it now. Great read so far (I'm in Russia with the German invasion, so near the front of the book). · 12 minutes ago
Lord, I hope his book isn't chronological, then. Hitler didn't invade the USSR until '41.
Apr '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
I can't decide if this title represents "the dismaying coarsening of public discourse that increasingly characterizes our political life and prompted the founding of Ricochet as a response" or "really brilliant marketing, because I guess even I'm curious enough now to think vaguely about ordering the book."
I go with the former. As a former listener to Howard Stern's show back when he was on AM radio in New York and was still actually funny, once a certain line has been crossed, it takes an ever-increasing level of vulgarity to get people to notice you.
Jul '10
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
Crow's Nest: From the author’s blog:
“We have become a frozen tableau of contrasts” – A frozen tableau? Tautological or just a poorly written sentence?
...
A note for the budding rhetoricians in the readership: Any lyric image that begins with words like "a lyric image" or, in this case, "a frozen tableau," are unlikely to carry the intended effect.
It is a form of reading the stage direction, famously comical when done by the Bush dynasty, but a detractor from the effectiveness of your argument.
We now resume our regularly scheduled Ricochet conversation, already in progress.
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
Ha! Very funny!
Dec '10
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
I am so relieved to learn you didn't write that headline, Claire. I was literally becoming worried for you.
Feb '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
Fat Dave
Mama Toad
I've borrowed Storm of War from the library and am reading it now. Great read so far (I'm in Russia with the German invasion, so near the front of the book). · 12 minutes ago
Lord, I hope his book isn't chronological, then. Hitler didn't invade the USSR until '41. · 1 hour ago
That's so, but isn't 1941 kind of near the front of the war? The US entrance into the war has not yet been narrated, although it has been alluded to and will take place in the next chapter. Let me put it this way: I'm on p. 180, in December 1941, in the chapter "Kicking in the Door." The book is mostly chronological and goes to p. 608, so I am still "near the front of the book."
Jul '10
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
I don't know what the heck radical centrism is, but I'm pretty sure I don't like it.
Feb '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
To answer Claire's question: I would not buy this book, but I might borrow it from the library or a friend. It is possible the author and I are related, since his family name is my paternal grandmother's family name.
I dislike the title. I am not opposed to using language that shocks, but it should be done well. This just seems vulgar.
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
Crow's Nest: From the author’s blog:
“We have become a frozen tableau of contrasts” – A frozen tableau? Tautological or just a poorly written sentence?
“We’ve also become so anodyne to the real problems that we either falsify new ones...” – falsify new ones? Do you mean get drawn aside by false ones? I don't think you mean "disprove" or "alter fraudulently" here.....File with 'opiate'.
“…or worse, we treat them [problems] like dry-cleaning and have them done for us”—Wait, we do? Wouldn’t that mean our dry cleaning got done [problems solved]? How does that square with “we are frozen in other ways. Some call our polarization and inability to unit against problems a crisis in governance.” Uh hrm.
“It is also about getting our mojo back”. Ah, yes, glad we cleared that up. I was concerned there for a bit that our national mojo deficit would fail to be broached..... · 3 hours ago
Crow's Nest, I don't mean to play favorites on Ricochet, but you're my favorite.
Oct '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
Isn't by any chance this book written by Michael Bay, at least literally ?
Jul '11
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
I think we should take this book and litter all over the place, literally. Now that the bad pun is out of the way I can say with certainty that the author and his voluminous literary transgressions was not targeting the Ricosuave of the world. Sometimes you get an average brained fellow and his thought together and out pops a book. Most likely he was so pumped up by the title that he wrote a book around it and utilized material from chain emails.
May '10
Re: Literally Opiating China's Bitch: Would You Buy This Book?
ten impending catastrophes:
Quick, close the barn door, the horse is out.