I'll burn that bridge when I get to it! : heretical thoughts on identity politics, cancel culture, and academic freedom / Norman Finkelstein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Finkelstein, Norman G., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Identity politics--United States.

Identity politics.

Political culture--United States.

Political culture.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 587 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

Second expanded edition.

Other Title:

I will burn that bridge when I get to it!

Place of Publication:

New York : OR Books, LLC, [2025]

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Front Cover

Back Cover

Halftitle Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Contents

Preface to the Second Expanded Edition

Foreword

PART I IDENTITY POLITICS AND CANCEL CULTURE

1 Confessions of a Crusty, Crotchety, Cantankerous, Contrarian, Communist Casualty of Cancel Culture

2 Kimberlé Crenshaw Goes on a Safari

3 Ta-Nehisi Coates Demands Reparations, Sort Of

4 Robin DiAngelo Kicks Karen’s Butt

5 Ibram X. Kendi’s Woke Guide to Who’s Hot and Who’s Not

6 Barack Obama’s “Neat Trick”

Conclusion to Part I

PART II ACADEMIC FREEDOM

Prefatory Note

7 Who’s Afraid of Holocaust Denial?

8 Do Pervs and Pinkos, Ravers and Rabble-Rousers Have a Right to Teach?

Conclusion to Part II

Appendix

Acknowledgments Generated by AI.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

ISBN:

1682196429

9781682196427

OCLC:

1521492162