The book describes how narcissism has infected the American culture these days. And I wouldn't be surprise if it trickles down to the rest of the global world if we don't watch out. It sure is thought provoking that I find myself nodding my head a lot of times. ( )

Grade inflation, bimbos on TV, Charlie Sheen, Donald Trump, the real estate collapse of 2008, the SUV, and the ongoing Web 2.0 bubble: what do they have in common? Rampant narcissism, according to these authors.

Narcissism has been classically understood to be about excessive self-love. The tricky word here is love, because although you might think it means being kind to yourself, gentle with yourself, patient with your faults, and good to yourself, that isn't the right sense of the word. Instead of love, admiration, promotion, and certainly above all, focus. The narcissist is so focused on themselves they might not be able to see you at all.

But the authors never discuss focus. Instead, they give a rambling tour of numerous qualities: excessive self-promotion, grandiosity, low empathy, excessive vanity, and high self esteem. They tell us what we ought to already know, that narcissism is associated with materialism and outward appearance. The narcissist feels entitled to grades, money, power and sex without effort, and may become aggressive when insulted, they say.

We learn nothing about how the narcissism epidemic has affected the incidence of rape, nor do we learn anything about preventing violent crimes committed by entitled, angry narcissists.

The prognosis is more of the same, an endless spiral of competitiveness, aggression, and violence, as American culture and all that it touches worldwide spins ever upward into the excesses of narcissism.

The brakes might be applied of people taught their children to play well with others. If only more people valued a spiritual path of mindfulness, humility, and self-compassion, things might get better. Wait! Don't these authors come from the same academic establishment that told us God is dead and religion is bunk?

I thought I would read more about how to apply the theories of developmental psychology to the progress of narcissism in our culture. Are children becoming arrested in development, as they reach farther and farther out from themselves in their teen years do they slow way down, or stop? The authors spend a lot of pages on the education system both in critique and prescription, but I didn't find any connection to developmental stages.

Are we becoming more competitive and aggressive because the world feels as though it is shrinking while the number of people in it is constantly growing? Employers receive hundreds of resumes for every job offered, but it was not always that way. Advertising a job on the internet makes it possible for ten thousand qualified people to become aware of an opening overnight. What impact has that had, and what can we do to reduce that impact? The authors are silent.

I am not saying this book is worthless. If you want to raise your awareness of the size and scope of the social problem of narcissism, this book will help. If you are trying to convince someone that narcissism is a growing problem, this book gives you ready access to many very convincing statistics.

Also, you will be introduced to the NPI, if you are not already familiar with it. You can take an abbreviated version the test yourself, and score it on the spot. Give the test to your friends and compare scores. The full version is available on the internet from several sources.

If you are a fan of Baumeister's work on self esteem, as I am, you might like this book because it ties that into narcissism in several ways. The authors worked with Professor Baumeister years ago and acknowledge their connection to him quite warmly in the early pages.
( )

Another pop psychology book in which the authors repeat themselves in every chapter. ( )

. The Narcissism Epidemic by Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell is a fame seeking little narcissistic tract that merits finishing only if you have already started it, have seen a few facts, and feel a need to see what few might remain. I recommend that no one start on this one.

It fails mostly to find a rigorous subject. Although one in twelve people have an episode in their lives that amounts to a narcissistic disorder this book claims not to be interested in them (now it is only one to four in a hundred people who are sociopaths, and that number can sustain in interest in books about them). It is interested in the boyfriend who is self-absorbed and his kind. It can't seem to pin down what it means to have self-esteem, what the faults are of having self-esteem, and how it might be necessary to have some self-esteem to function. It treats some not so evil desires for luxury as pathological; why shouldn't one want one's own bathroom if one can afford it? It reduces family solidarity? The book hops around between anecdote and assertion without following much of a track. It is just barely readable.

Yet the authors are full of self-congratulation.

Bah, humbug! ( )

This is a very important book, and it makes a few really valid points. Ms. Twenge and Mr. Campbell make a great job of connecting the dots on many cultural trends that would otherwise seem unrelated. This is particularly interesting for a non-American reader, since when I see that sort of stuff on TV I never know if what I'm noticing is real, hyperbolic or just irony. So it was really helpful having someone lay out the big picture for me.

Still, I think this book would be much more compelling if it weren't so repetitive. Now I realize that, when you have a thesis to prove, the border between argumentation and reiteration is a difficult one to walk. I get it - I'm a paranoid nonfiction reader, and I'm hyperaware of that sort of stuff. It's what happens when you're preaching to the choir. But trust me - this one really drags at points.

Anyway, if you're willing to resort to diagonal reading after the first half of every chapter, you should totally give this a go. As for me, I've made two chilling realizations:

- I like reading about American bad lifestyles and social tendencies, because deep down I know we are next. That way I'll be able to say I saw it coming.
- I've wondered for years, how can these people afford the single-family houses they all live in?* The answer is, they can't.



*I mean, look at the Simpsons. Come on, really?? ( )