This was a romp through book. Amy Alkon is an advice columnist with a strong libertarian streak. She seems decent enough. I like her references to Adam Smith's "The Theory of Moral Sentiments". The references to evolutionary psychology and scholars like Robin Dunbar add authority to her opinions.
She presents herself as concerned about a lapse of good manners and calls for a crusade to put social responsibility back into our lives. She lays out a game plan for taking back public spaces from the boors and ill-mannered people who have proliferated since the late 1960s. (Yes, the "me" generation of the 1960s has indeed caused a blight on public spaces. The fight for civil rights and a more accountable government were good solid plusses from the 1960s, but the boorish behaviour that came along is definitely a downer.)
There are a number of stories she relates which are quite useful:
- How to catch an identity thief - tells the shocking story of how Bank of America's lax security practices creates havoc in its customer's lives and the indifference of the bank to this problem.
- How to catch a car thief - tells of her ups and downs in tracking down a car thief who stole her pink 1960 Nash Rambler. It points out how useless the police are in solving crimes that ordinary people face. But it also shows how persistence can pay off. It is a story with a relatively happy ending.
- How to catch a telemarkter - tells of her struggle to get a fake "survey" company to pay up for taking her time using its telemarketing ploy. She gives the ins and outs of struggle to overcome the toothless wonder known as "Do Not Call" list and get her day in court.
3 comments:
It sounds like she does things that sometimes we think about doing or wish we could have done. But, I have been faced with her kind of person in dealing with homeowners in the recent past, In dealing with a neighborhood that we had to relocate gas lines on select properties; the people were simply unreasonable in their demands. I wondered at the time, why these people were so tenaciously out to make sure they didn't get walked on that they became unbearably hard to work with, so I can relate when you say that you wouldn't want to be her neighbor.
It does sound like a fun book.
Yep... she's a character. And the book is fun.
The book is helpful to understand her personality type. She's one in a ten thousand, so it is unlikely you will ever meet a character like her. That's what is fun about books, they sure extend the range of your experiences.
I also found the book interesting because she gives details of some of the tricks she uses to find people on the Internet. If you want to sleuth, this book will teach you something.
She is persistent, intelligent, and polite. But she is implacable. I sure wouldn't want her on my case.
Hah! Thanks -- I'm actually a good neighbor (I look out for my neighbors) and a good friend, but, no, you wouldn't want me for an enemy.
That said, beyond encouraging people not to let others' victimize them, I encourage people to do small kindnesses for other people. Spread the nice instead of the mean, so life will feel a little less like one big wrestling smackdown.
Thank you so much for reading my book, and for blogging about it.
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