98 books
—
11 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Who Stole the American Dream? Can We Get It Back?” as Want to Read:
Who Stole the American Dream? Can We Get It Back?
by
From Pulitzer Prize winner, "New York Times" bestselling author, and PBS "Frontline" reporter Hedrick Smith comes the remarkable, step-by-step story of how the American Dream was dismantled over the past forty years by forces left unchecked in Washington and on Wall Street, and by a series of landmark legislative, electoral, and corporate decisions. Through stories of ever
...more
Get A Copy
Hardcover, 544 pages
Published
September 11th 2012
by Random House Publishing Group
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Who Stole the American Dream? Can We Get It Back?,
please sign up.
Recent Questions
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Who Stole the American Dream? Can We Get It Back?
I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!
This line from the Howard Beale character in the 1976 movie Network kept running through my mind as I read Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Hedrick Smith's Who Stole the American Dream? Smith's answer: corporations, banks, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, Republican and Democratic presidents, and many others.
Smith begins by describing the "virtuous circle" that existed from the 1940s to the early 1970s in which stockholders, corporati ...more
This line from the Howard Beale character in the 1976 movie Network kept running through my mind as I read Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Hedrick Smith's Who Stole the American Dream? Smith's answer: corporations, banks, Republicans and Democrats in Congress, Republican and Democratic presidents, and many others.
Smith begins by describing the "virtuous circle" that existed from the 1940s to the early 1970s in which stockholders, corporati ...more
This book left me both angry, and charged in the way a good book makes you say 'yes, that is how this all fits together.' It's a canvas that connects many dots through a deep excavation of the socio-political events of the past 30 years - and the picture is not pretty (the man has been reporting for awhile) It made me rethink why the past past five years of financial cataclysm occurred. It is also - almost - above the politics of the left or right, though it's not hard to see Smith coming in fro
...more
I just finished "Who Stole the American Dream?", and it has instilled in me a deep depression from which it will take months, possibly years, to recover. Nonetheless, I give it five stars for explaining, in minute detail and from many angles, how Americans have been robbed of their political power by those who reside in the upper reaches of Richistan. It's nauseating. Step by step, Smith methodically spells out how we lost the dream on account of our nasty, crooked little friends at the U.S. Cha
...more
There have been quite a number of books of this ilk, about the slow slide of the middle class, published lately. Of those I have read, this was the most accessible, the most clearly written. Perhaps because the author is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, he makes the results of his thorough research easily understood, perhaps even too much so (if that is possible). There was a refrain from the old film, "The Music Man" that kept popping into my head: "Make your blood boil? Well, I should say.
...more
If it were up to me, this would be required reading in elementary school!!! This book's message should be on every t.v. newscast on every station every day. Clearly written, this book offers a good overview of many of the problems facing the poor and middle class, and proposes solutions.
...more
What an eye opening book. The author does a great job summarizing his points based upon the events of the past 50 years and their impact on the Middle Class in particular. The main point is that when business and working class/labor force goals are aligned a virtuous circle is created whereby the needs of both are met, profits are made, and the economy as a whole prospers. The author's point is that in the past 30 years in particular business has shifted away from supporting their work force to
...more
Great read until the end when, it seems to me, the author blames all of America's ills (ok, perhaps that's a stretch) on the Republican Party. No reference AT ALL to America's growing entitlement state or complete lack of education/good grammar. Total crock of poo. Overall, good information/historical perspective until the conclusion of the book.
...more
Superb book,the best i have read so far on the problems that have beset the U.S. and why they happened. Should be required reading for high school seniors and university students as they will have to try and change the system. The author also provides practical solutions and i am sure a lot of Americans would embrace his ideas.
Complicated story
This is an excellent read. All Americans should read it to understand how/why the status quo works against the middle class. The government works very well, but for whom?
Hedrick Smith’s 2012 book “Who Stole the American Dream?” is a powerful look at the way things have shifted against the middle class over the last 40 years in America. It’s an important book that everyone interested in American politics or economics should read.
I was an intern in Hedrick Smith’s office during the fall of 2001. While I was there I helped work on Smith’s documentary “Rediscovering Dave Brubeck,” which I would highly recommend to any jazz fan. While I interned at Hedrick Smith Pro ...more
I was an intern in Hedrick Smith’s office during the fall of 2001. While I was there I helped work on Smith’s documentary “Rediscovering Dave Brubeck,” which I would highly recommend to any jazz fan. While I interned at Hedrick Smith Pro ...more
There seems to be no shortage of books looking at the downturn of our Country's fortunes, and what is needed to correct our problems. Look, for example, at Bill Clinton's "Back To Work, Why we Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy"; Jeffery Sachs' "The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity"; Arthur Laffer's "Return to Prosperity"; Edward Kennedy's "America Back on Track"; Paul Krugman's "End this Depression Now"; Tom Friedman's "That Used to Be Us"; Tyler Cowan's
...more
Hedrick Smith's book is so compelling because he documents the multiple forces at work that have utterly destabilized the foundations on which the great American middle class was built. We've been asked to take more and more responsibility for our own health and financial security at the same time that wages have fallen. The cost of housing and higher education have skyrocketed at the same time banksters deregulated Wall Street and flooded us with offers of hundreds of thousands of dollars per h
...more
This book furthered my understanding of our political system and, most importantly, it exposed how much influence wealth has on everyday policies. I used to think that criminals were caught and prosecuted. I now understand that every law is selectively enforced; or more correctly, most laws are not enforced and those that are enforced largely shift wealth from the many to the few.
He does a nice job of summarizing what we might do to change the status quo - I've been thinking lately that we need ...more
He does a nice job of summarizing what we might do to change the status quo - I've been thinking lately that we need ...more
Rather infuriating look at the ways the middle class has been fucked over, in the last couple decades by rich people, and then those same rich people wail loudly when the middle class says something about it, despite leading us into a recession, and being bailed out by the taxpayers. Talks about ARM mortgages, 401ks, retirement, health care, minimum wages, non-existent cost of living pay increases, executive bonuses in the 10s of millions despite a failing business, capital gains taxes, costs of
...more
Sometimes it just takes someone to connect all the dots. Many of the things Mr. Smith talks about I remember, but when you put them in a linear position and see them you will understand why we are where we are.
Great read.
Great read.
Very well documented history of the financial dilemma facing the US covering a time span of 1945 to 2012 when the book was published. It has no reference to Trump and only fleeting reference to Obama. It is definitely written from the left perspective but provides provocative documentation of how big business, supported mostly by republicans, changed the financial landscape from a broad distribution of wealth over a middle class that powered consumer growth to a distribution to the rich and supe
...more
I put off reading this book for a long time, because I knew it would make me angry. Turns out, I was right; it did make me angry. I knew some but by no means all of how the American middle class has been hollowed out for decades while oligarchs essentially took over all of government. But I didn't know what started it, or the full explanation for what drove it.
But the book also made me sad. Smith goes on and on about the consensus that America followed for decades after World War II, and how we ...more
But the book also made me sad. Smith goes on and on about the consensus that America followed for decades after World War II, and how we ...more
I agree with the book's description that this is indeed a 'must read' book. Although, this book was written nearly 10 years ago, many of the concerns discussed in the book are true today. This book gives a detailed analysis of why the wealth gap has been growing. However, the author is professional and doesn't just complain or randomly insult people instead logically explaining how corporations have used lobbyists to get politicians to bend to their will at the expense of the majority of working
...more
When a book starts with a quote from Louis Brandeis to Woodrow Wilson regarding whether the concentration of wealth and democracy are compatible, you should know you are starting out on the journey as laid out for progressive thinkers. This work did not, for the most part, disappoint in that regard. That said, there are elements of this narrative that ought to give pause for thought to just about any segment of the political spectrum.
The numbers often appear to speak for themselves, but I do not ...more
The numbers often appear to speak for themselves, but I do not ...more
A technical read - probably justifiably so. The author writes on specific bills and policies enacted over the past 20-30 years that have contributed to wealth concentration.
Seemed rather partisan with unsparing attacks on Presidents Reagan and the Bushes for various policies, though Presidents Carter and Clinton were criticized at some points. Quotes and comments from well known folks from the left of the spectrum (ie.Robert Reich) were given ample coverage.
Congress and business all were culprit ...more
Seemed rather partisan with unsparing attacks on Presidents Reagan and the Bushes for various policies, though Presidents Carter and Clinton were criticized at some points. Quotes and comments from well known folks from the left of the spectrum (ie.Robert Reich) were given ample coverage.
Congress and business all were culprit ...more
I have to agree with most of the posts here that Smith provides a detailed description of how the middle class has become nearly irrelevant. He provides in easy to read text the details of the step by step process that the wealthy took to take back the wealth of America from the middle and working people of America beginning in the late 1960s. It corresponds very neatly with the dissection of that process by Nancy MacLean in "Democracy in Chains" and shows the impact of many of the efforts to st
...more
Well-detailed
I wanted to give it 3 stars but since the author brought a lot of good points. So it is four...anyway like I said the author brought a lot of good points about how rich and corruption wreaking havoc in our economy. Yet, I’m still reeling my anger that our own congresspeople threw the middle-class people under the bus. Money or not...if you betrayed the meaning to be American. Then you are no American at all. Period. Full stop! Also, I don’t feel the satisfaction from the 10 points p ...more
I wanted to give it 3 stars but since the author brought a lot of good points. So it is four...anyway like I said the author brought a lot of good points about how rich and corruption wreaking havoc in our economy. Yet, I’m still reeling my anger that our own congresspeople threw the middle-class people under the bus. Money or not...if you betrayed the meaning to be American. Then you are no American at all. Period. Full stop! Also, I don’t feel the satisfaction from the 10 points p ...more
I am a big fan of Hedrick Smith. I began this to review the political history of my adulthood, graduation in 1972 until 2012. My intent was to figure out how we arrived at the world of Trump. This does that so well I stopped and restarted with a discussion group to help them understand arriving at Trump is a process manipulated by big business and the rich ultra elites. They co-opted the Evangelicals who will support anyone who furthers their social agenda based on abortion opposition. There are
...more
I feel kind of bad giving it 4 stars because I gave a number of similar books on the same subject 5, and maybe I would have been more enthusiastic if I hadnt read those first. But I did, and I perceived that this was slightly less thorough and heavier on the campy old school reporter type asides. I still highly recommend it, it was excellent and highly readable and not terribly long. It was accurate, but unfortunately it is not possible to be terribly thorough on the subject without a much longe
...more
I tried. I came back to it several times but I just couldn't get over the "back in my hippy days" mentality that I kept getting from the book. I'm all for learning how the US govt has taken advantage of its citizens and set things up for a vicious circle of politicians and business leaders feeding off of each other's grift, but to be completely honest I grew up listening to baby boomers tell me what wonderful people they were for fighting the man and I just couldn't make it through a book that s
...more
While I agree wholeheartedly that the problems defined in this book are big problems I am in nearly complete disagreement with the suggested solutions. Government as it was and is caused the problems and there is no rewind button. Relying on the same system that caused these problems seems futile and depressing to me.
I have no idea about the accuracy of Smith's identification of the late 70's as the turning point of american democracy. But dang, the effects are pretty clear. We're getting fleeced, folks. And we're abdicating our responsibility and claim on communal goods. Time to re-claim our time. One place to start: the Poor People's Campaign. Check it out.
...more
Phenomenal read, very informative. It put a lot of policies together concisely and in a manner that helped me understand our current political landscape like no other book or professor has done so astutely.
If every American would read this book and Howard Zinn’s “People’s History of the United States” we would understand how we’ve been lied to, manipulated and systematically destroyed by our so-called elites.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
Related Articles
The Great Migration was the movement of six million African Americans out of the South to urban areas in the Northeast, Midwest, and West between...
46 likes · 4 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“We are literally Two Americas, remarkably out of touch with each other— the fortunate living the American Dream but lacking any practical comprehension of how the other half are suffering, month in and month out, unaware of the enervating toll of economic despair on the unfortunate half, many of whom just two or three years before had counted themselves among the fortunate.”
—
3 likes
“Henry Ford gave that idea popular currency when he brought out the famous Model T car and announced in 1914 that he would pay his workers the then unheard-of wage of $ 5 a day. Not only was it a matter of social justice, Ford later wrote, but it was smart business. When wages are low, Ford argued, business and the economy are at risk. But when pay is high and steady, Ford reasoned, business is more secure because workers earn enough to be good customers and eventually to be able to afford to buy Model Ts.”
—
3 likes
More quotes…
