That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back
“[InThat Used to Be Usthere] are big truths, and the authors see them clearly and whole. As is usual in Mr. Friedman’s work the power of the core argument is buttressed by detailed reportage and blizzards of specific fact and detail, but the accumulation of anecdote and evidence never detracts from the book’s central thrust.That Used to Be Usis an important contribution to an intensifying debate, and it deserves the widest possible attention.” —Walter Russell Mead,The New York Times“Friedman and Mandelbaum are men of the American elite, and they write to salute those members of the American elite who behave public-spiritedly and to scourge those who do not. They are winners, writing to urge other winners to have more of a care for their fellow citizens who are not winners. And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that! . . . American society has had a big serving of that ugly anti-elitist spirit in the recent past. It could use more of the generous responsible spirit Friedman and Mandelbaum recommend.” —David Frum,The New York Times Book Review“[An] important and eminently readable book…” —Stanley Hoffmann,The New York Review of Books“This is a book of exceptional importance, written on a sweeping scale with remarkable clarity by two of our most gifted thinkers. A soon-to-be best seller, it should be read by policymakers and every American concerned about our country's future.” —Elizabeth L. Winter, Library Journal