THUS THE UNICORN RIDER'S...:

Sad Men: ELSEWHERE, U.S.A By Dalton Conley (JENNIFER SCHUESSLER, NY Times Book Review)

Pity the poor Organization Man. Once upon a time, he ruled the American Century with his natty fedora and his quest for “belongingness.” Sure, every­one loves him in “Mad Men,” but these days his wife makes more money than he does, his kids take more meetings and the senior v.p. next door has started wearing age-­inappropriate indie rock T-shirts. Even his shrink finds his pre­occupation with the authentic self passé. And the sociologists can’t stop writing his obituary.

Dalton Conley is the latest. “A new breed of American has arrived on the scene,” Conley, a professor at New York University, declares in “Elsewhere, U.S.A.,” his compact guidebook to our nervous new world. Instead of individuals searching for authenticity, we are “intraviduals” defined by shifting personas and really cool electronics, which help us manage “the myriad data streams, impulses, desires and even consciousnesses that we experience in our heads as we navigate multiple worlds.” The denizens of our “Elsewhere Society,” Conley argues, “are only convinced they’re in the right place, doing the right thing, at the right time, when they’re on their way to the next destination."

...desperate attachment to his blackberry and ceasely need to add lines to his resume. However, this underestimates his devotion to the Organization. He defines his personal success by his conformity to the expectations of the institution.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 24, 2009 10:42 AM