Arlie Russell Hochschild is the author of many groundbreaking books, including The Second Shift, The Managed Heart, and The Time Bind as well as Strangers in Their Own Land, which became an instant bestseller and was a finalist for a National Book Award, and Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right (both from The New Press). Hochschild is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Berkeley with her husband, the writer Adam Hochschild.
Praise for Strangers in Their Own Land:
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST FOR NONFICTION
NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A NEWSDAY TOP 10 BOOK OF THE YEAR
A KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
One of "6 Books to Understand Trump's Win" according to the New
York Times the day after the election
"[A] smart, respectful and compelling book."
—Jason DeParle, The New York Times Book Review
"[Hochschild's] analysis is overdue at a time when questions of
policy and legislation and even fact have all but vanished from the
public discourse."
—Nathaniel Rich, The New York Review of Books
"Hochschild moves beyond the truism that less affluent voters who
support small government and tax cuts are voting against their own
economic interest."
—O Magazine
"By far the best book by an outsider to the Tea Party I have ever
encountered . . . a wonderful contribution to the national
discourse.
—Forbes
"An entry pass to an alternative worldview, and with it a route map
towards empathy."
—The Economist
"Remarkable. . . . Hochschild gives a rich and vivid picture of the
emotional and social life . . . in the American South."
—Sean McCann, The Los Angeles Review of Books
"Hochschild comes to know people—and her own nation—better than
they know themselves"
—Heather Mallick, The Toronto Star
"Up close there is a depth to the concerns of Hochschild's subjects
. . . They are concerned about pollution, and about the social
decay that we see most vividly in the opioid epidemic. They are
aware . . . of facts on the ground."
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker
"Strangers in Their Own Land is extraordinary for its consistent
empathy and the attention it pays to the emotional terrain of
politics. It is billed as a book for this moment, but it will
endure."
—Gabriel Thompson, Newsday
[Hochschild's] connection and kindness to the people she meets is
what makes this book so powerful.
—Marion Winik, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Hochschild is fascinated by how people make sense of their lives .
. . [She] conveys that she genuinely likes the people she meets,
communicating their dignity and values . . . . These attentive,
detailed portraits . . . reveal a gulf between Hochschild's
Strangers in Their Own Land and a new elite."
—Jedediah Purdy, The New Republic
"The importance of emotion in politics, not just facts and figures,
[Hochschild] writes convincingly, is critical to understand...a
point politicians of all stripes would be smart to remember."
—Felice Belman, The Boston Globe
"Hochschild has gone about her investigation diligently and with an
appealing humility."
—Karen Olsson, Bookforum
"An important contribution to the understanding of our times...
Strangers in Their Own Land describes in vivid detail a world that
is often ignored or caricatured by the media and by many
liberals."
—The Nation
"[Hochschild's] deeply humble approach is refreshing and
strengthens her research . . . . She skillfully invites liberal
readers into the lives of Americans whose views they may have never
seriously considered. After evaluating her conclusions and meeting
her informants in these pages, it's hard to disagree that empathy
is the best solution to stymied political and social
discourse."
—Publishers Weekly
"A well-told chronicle of an ambitious sociological project of
significant current importance."
—Kirkus Reviews
"If the great political question of our time can be summarized in
the two words, 'Donald Trump,' the answer is to be found in Arlie
Russell Hochschild's brilliant new book, Strangers in Their Own
Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. Hochschild, an
eminent sociologist with a novelist's storytelling skill, has
crafted an absorbing tale full of richly drawn, complicated
characters who come bearing their own fascinating histories.
Together, in Hochschild's authoritative hands, they offer a
compelling and lucid portrait of what had seemed a bewildering
political moment. A powerful, imaginative, necessary book, arriving
not a moment too soon."
—Mark Danner, author of Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War
"Arlie Hochschild journeys into a far different world than her
liberal academic enclave of Berkeley, into the heartland of the
nation's political right, in order to understand how the
conservative white working class sees America. With compassion and
empathy, she discovers the narrative that gives meaning and
expression to their lives–and which explains their political
convictions, along with much else. Anyone who wants to understand
modern America should read this captivating book."
—Robert B. Reich, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy,
University of California, Berkeley
"The celebrated sociologist Arlie Hochschild left Berkeley and went
far outside her comfort zone to live among and report on Tea Party
members in Louisiana over five years. With the clear-headed empathy
she is famous for, she explored the central paradox of these
political activists in the heart of 'cancer alley': they understand
that the chemical and oil companies have destroyed their
environment and sometimes their lives, but they remain ardent
defenders of free market capitalism. Hochschild spent many hours—at
church services, picnics and kitchen tables—probing the ways they
struggle to reconcile their conflicting interests and loyalties.
There could not be a more important topic in current American
politics, nor a better person to dissect it. Every page—every story
and individual—is fascinating, and the emerging analysis is
revelatory."
—Barbara Ehrenreich
"In her attempt to climb over the 'empathy wall' and truly
understand the emotional lives of her political adversaries, Arlie
Hochschild gives us a vital roadmap to bridging the deep divides in
our political landscape and renewing the promise of American
democracy. A must-read for any political American who isn't ready
to give up just yet."
—Joan Blades, co-founder of LivingRoomConversations.org,
MomsRising.org, and MoveOn.org
"Arlie Russell Hochschild's work has never been more timely or more
necessary, from the resurgence of interest in emotional labor to
this deep, empathetic dive into the heart of the Right. Strangers
in Their Own Land does what few dare to do—it takes seriously the
role of feelings in politics."
—Sarah Jaffe, author of Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt
Ask a Question About this Product More... |