Don't Think, Smile!: Notes on a Decade of Denial

The liberal cause finds a backbone in Ellen Willis's supple collection of essays. Whether writing about feminism, freedom of speech, O.J. Simpson, or The Bell Curve, Willis presents arguments that are always thought-provoking, and always meant to reconnect the current political divide between the economic and cultural concerns of liberals in order to strengthen the liberal position. "The left will continue to lose ground," Willis insists, "unless it gives up the untenable distinction between economics and culture to which it is stubbornly attached." Willis inspires political liberals to stop second-guessing what mainstream America really wants, and to stand behind real concerns about the rights to freedom and pleasure. Don't Think, Smile! has plenty to spar about, but one will do so with a truly invigorating pugilist. --Maria Dolan