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A review by jmarryott23
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman
3.75
This isn’t a normal genre of book that I’d generally go for, but I had heard a lot of hype around it and the topic certainly interests me. Some of this is too in the weeds for me. And it is a long and thematically heavy book. But Trueman does an excellent job presenting the material and covering the topics, all while mostly staying apolitical.
There’s some really thought provoking stuff here. The fact that sex pervades every part of our lives now must not be an accident. Mainstream music like rap, country, and pop, which overwhelmingly target teens, seem to be almost entirely about sex. The author cleverly uses Ariana Grande as an example. And things that used to be risqué, like Playboy and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit addition, are basically laughable as a form of sexual entertainment today. Trueman makes the argument that we need too see how we’ve gotten here in order to understand where we are going.
So if the premise intrigues you but you aren’t sure about tackling this book, there is a more concise 200 page edition called Strange New World that is meant to be easier to digest. I’m guessing I would prefer that version.
There’s some really thought provoking stuff here. The fact that sex pervades every part of our lives now must not be an accident. Mainstream music like rap, country, and pop, which overwhelmingly target teens, seem to be almost entirely about sex. The author cleverly uses Ariana Grande as an example. And things that used to be risqué, like Playboy and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit addition, are basically laughable as a form of sexual entertainment today. Trueman makes the argument that we need too see how we’ve gotten here in order to understand where we are going.
So if the premise intrigues you but you aren’t sure about tackling this book, there is a more concise 200 page edition called Strange New World that is meant to be easier to digest. I’m guessing I would prefer that version.