Eric Miller (3) (1966–)

Lasch was perhaps the most important thinker practicing history in the U.S. in the second half of the 20th century. His books (The Culture of Narcissism was his most famous)drew fervid criticism from both left and right. He spent his career criticizing liberal progressivism and the shallow desire for betterment. But he was even more critical of conservatives. He thought corporate capitalism and disregard of social class to play large roles in producing the evil he saw around him in the modern world. Eventually, he came to praise tight-knit bourgeois family life, independent work, local community, and religious values as keys to the best life we can have in this world. Eric Miller has written a biography that is, generally, worthy of its subject. Lasch was a complex, difficult man. Miller has made an impressive first attempt to discern him and the importance of his work.… (mer)