America's Human Arithmetic: Essential Essays from Nicholas Eberstadt, Volume 2

As the US

approaches its 250th anniversary, American discontent bubbles beneath the

impending celebrations. Less confident in their own institutions and

increasingly dissatisfied with their country’s international commitments,

Americans are venting their frustration both at home and abroad.

Yet this

disaffection rumbles at the same time the US has achieved unparalleled wealth

and unmatched global power. Why the disconnect?

In this landmark

volume, Nicholas Eberstadt answers that pressing question. Drawing on decades

of extraordinary scholarship, he lays out the nation’s “human arithmetic” in

demographic, social, and economic terms.

He demonstrates

that 21st-century America, for all its marvels and blessings, is nonetheless

beset by a “New Misery”: the practical and moral dilemmas of wealth in the

absence of well-being. New social afflictions hide in plain sight—among them

the astonishing flight of millions of men from the workforce and the surge in

criminality, with over 20 million former felons living in our midst.

In America’s

Human Arithmetic, Eberstadt

offers a compelling and frightening diagnosis of modern social dysfunction. He

shows that the United States’ best years may yet be to come—but not if

Americans are unwilling to face the challenges their human arithmetic lays

bare.