Description:

Norman Finkelstein first made his name while still
in graduate school when he exposed an acclaimed
national bestseller as a hoax. He went on in
subsequent decades to subject Israel’s apologists
as well as Holocaust hucksters to withering
scrutiny.
In his new book, Finkelstein focuses his keen
forensic eye on the canonical texts of identity
politics. After methodically parsing them,
Finkelstein concludes that they’re lacking in
intellectual substance. Instead, the real purpose
of identity politics is to derail a class-based
movement bent on radical change.
In a long, scathing chapter, Finkelstein analyzes
the cult surrounding Barack Obama, which he
reveals as the ultimate product of identity politics.
The first Black president rose to power by having,
in Obama’s own cynical words, “pulled off a neat
trick” by standing for nothing except his skin color.
If “woke” liberals embraced him, it was because,
beneath his hip veneer, Obama was a sure bet to
prop up the corrupt status quo.
Along the way, Finkelstein recalls his own life in
radical politics and his close encounters with
cancel culture, which left him unemployed and
unemployable. He situates his personal story
within broader debates on academic freedom and
poignantly concludes that, although occasionally
bitter, he harbors no regrets about the choices
he made.
“If I can’t laugh, I don’t want your revolution,”
Finkelstein declares. Laced with his signature wit,
readers of this book will get to laugh along with
him.