Twilight of the Elites

Hayes argues that our society suffers from institutional failure and lack of trust in institutions because our elites, isolated and spoiled, fight against losing privileges; meritocracy has undone itself. He reads with energy and urgency, but, perhaps due to his passion for the topic, he sometimes verges on stridency, as if belaboring the listener, a disservice to an intelligent and thoughtful text. His energy, perhaps, and his familiarity with the text often lead him to read too quickly, making listeners race to keep up, rather than being able to digest his insights and arguments. In his rush, he regularly renders words sloppily or swallows parts of them. Still, he does get this smart and timely book across, and it deserves a hearing. W.M. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine