Die Abwicklung: Eine innere Geschichte des neuen Amerika (2013 original; edició 2015)

This book is pretty hard to categorize. It's a tale of the overall changes in America from mid-20c to 2012, told through personal stories which are very different from one another but collectively probably representative of many Americans. There was a great mix of massively successful businesspeople, struggling entrepreneurs, and people from the middle class moving down or struggling to stay in place, and people from rough backgrounds moving up. Many major events (2008 financial crisis, in particular, and deindustrialization of the 70s/80s) were present from several perspectives. A few stories which were highly relevant to me were missing (dotcom boom, higher education bubble), but overall it was comprehensive for the period. ( )

Tough sledding as virus tops 100k in US and cities are on fire but this is first rate journalism. Enlightening, engrossing and deeply researched. ( )

A very informative book, on how the US has changed economy at home but also abroad. It is a book that either depresses you or makes you angry. I belong to the second group, and wonder what will it take for the people, not only in the US but globally, to take back in their own hands the destiny of this planet? Because one is for certain: those that are at the reins now cannot be trusted. ( )

Good reportage, but a bit too much of it. ( )

An interesting idea. Rather than pontificate and moralize on the "inner history of the new America," Packer tries to tell that story through a number of capsule bios of folks who exemplify, in one way or another, the trends he feels are shaping that new America. This, to me, seems to be a far more honest, challenging, and, if successful, effective way of doing the "social trends and their consequences" book.