Terry Teachout, one of our most acute cultural commentators, here turns his sharp eye to every corner of the arts world-music, dance, literature, theater, film, TV, and the visual arts. This collection gathers the best of Teachout's writings from the past fifteen years. In each essay he offers lucid and balanced judgments that invariably illuminate, sometimes infuriate, and always spark a response-the mark of a critic whose thoughts, however controversial, cannot be ignored.
In a thoughtful introduction to the book, Teachout considers how American culture of the twenty-first century differs from that of the last century and how the information age has altered popular culture. His selected essays chronicle America's cultural journey over the past decade and a half, and they show us what has been lost-and gained-along the way. With highly informed opinions, an inimitable wit and style, and a genuine devotion to all things cultural, Teachout offers his readers much to delight in and much to ponder.

About the Author

Terry Teachout is drama critic for the Wall Street Journal, music critic for Commentary, and a contributor to the Washington Post, for which he writes "Second City," a column about the arts in New York City. His most recent book is The Skeptic: A Life of H. L. Mencken.

Reviews
"Teachout is one of the finest critics on the scene today: tireless, gutsy, trenchant, never stale. His writings indicate a superb, highly developed and (in the best sense) discriminating taste." Martha Bayles, author of Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music"



Book Information
ISBN 9780300098945
Author Terry Teachout
Format Hardback
Page Count 464
Imprint Yale University Press
Publisher Yale University Press
Weight(grams) 644g