Haven in a Heartless World [Paperback]

One of the earliest and sharpest cultural commentators to investigate the twentieth-century American family, Christopher Lasch argues in this book that as social science experts intrude more and more into our lives, the family's vital role as the moral and social cornerstone of society disintegratesand, left unchecked, so does our political and personal freedom.A fascinating, alarming, profound study. . . . [A book] to ponder for years to come.A brilliant little book. . . . As an analyst of social science literature on the family, Lasch is superb. On balance, his book is the best essay available today on the modern history of the family.There is no more brilliant exposure of the collective self-deceptions of a 'therapeutic' society in quest of psychic security. . . . [Lasch's] indispensable contribution is the argument that public concern for the plight of the family has commonly masked efforts to subject the family to new forms of outside influenceIn the American political vocabulary, family and family values no longer simply evoke pictures of harmonious scenes; they also push our buttons (left and right) about what is wrong with society.