The Decline And Fall Of The American Writer

That Used To Be Us – a book review;

To cite one instance where we might thank Mr. Mandelbaum: When Mr. Friedman fastens onto one of his catchphrases, it customarily becomes a bludgeon with which he delivers repeated and merciless blows upon his readers. My informal count in “Hot, Flat, and Crowded” shows that Mr. Friedman used the title phrase or some variation of it nearly 40 times: an average of one appearance every 12 pages. In the new book, Mr. Mandelbaum has saved his co-author from a repetitive-stress injury and kept the use of the phrase “That Used to Be Us” down to 10 times. It may seem like a small thing to you, but you haven’t read the book yet.

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