THAT USED TO BE US How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back

Audiobooks dealing with complex political and economic issues can sometimes be a listening challenge because of the level of detail they present. In this work narrator Jason Culp keeps listeners engaged and on track in following the arguments presented by leading thinkers Friedman and Mandelbaum. Culp's tone is both concerned and hopeful as he guides listeners through the authors’ diagnosis of the problems plaguing the United States, including the education challenge, policies that have led to a burgeoning national deficit, failure to implement scientific and energy policies with regard to climate change, and increasingly divided partisan politics. Although the problems are indeed big, Friedman and Mandelbaum prescribe some tactics to get us back on track. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2011]