The war in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, the political sniping engendered by the Supreme Court nominations, and so on. Contemporary American society is characterized by divisive anger, profound loss, and danger.
Wendell Berry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendell_Berry and http://www.wendellberrybooks.com/), one of the America’s foremost cultural critics, addresses the menace, responding with hope and intelligence in a series of essays that tackle the major questions of the day. Whose freedom are we considering when we speak of the free market and free enterprise? What is really involved in American National Security? What is the price of ownership without affection? Berry answers in prose that shuns abstraction for clarity, coherence, and passion, giving us essays that may be the finest of his distinguished career.
Enquire at your local library or available at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Way-Ignorance-The-Other-Essays/dp/1593761198/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390075461&sr=8-1&keywords=way+of+ignorance
180 pages in Counterpoint paperback edition
ISBN 978-1593761196
Wendell Berry