This is a very interesting collection of essays. With that being said, many people may not respond well to the essays, especially in the hyper polarized time we seem to be living in right now.

American Rococo from Isham Cook is, well, about all I can say is that it is indeed a collection of essays. Essays, as compared with fiction and even informative nonfiction, are most prone to over or under appreciation depending largely on how the reader hears the writer's voice. For me, and this is true of the other works of his I have read, find his tone to be camouflage for an admittedly wide but not very deep understanding of what he writes about. Trump speaks on topics far and wide also yet no one in their right mind would accuse him of having any depth. The same holds true here, just without the unrepentant offensiveness of Trump. There isn't really any malice here, just not much meat either. Again, many essayists can get away with less meat by writing their opinions clearly as opinions. Cook pretends he is writing facts and valid analogies when, largely, he is just blustering.

So, I obviously find his voice both lacking and annoying. While I will stand behind what I wrote above I also know that many will find some substance in the essays simply because they hear his voice different from the way I do. If you have never read Cook and for some reason you want to (I don't mean that negatively, I just mean that perhaps someone recommended him so you want to read him) I don't think this is a particularly bad book to start with. The things he touches on that are more narrative and less pseudo-intellectual posturing are quite interesting. If they cause you to consider them independent of the essay then you will have gained something. If you're a fan or at least have liked his other work then I see nothing in this volume that would likely cause you to dislike it, so I would recommend this to you as well. If you have not liked his previous work or you have no compelling reason to read this then I would suggest reading almost anything else available, especially if you want to be mentally stimulated and challenged to (re)consider ideas or events.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

These thirteen humorous and provocative essays encompass both historical and current culture. Though not all of the essays are "winners", there's something for everyone. I highly recommend this for those who are willing to step outside their comfort zones.

A complete review has been posted on UnderratedReads.

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Essays either bore or cause you to explore. I didn't even really want to read this but what a surprise. The topics are a broad range but even better they cause you to dig on your own and to develop actual thoughts and not just discussion through "volume". I think you will all be pleased

I wouldn't so much call these essays "far-flung" as I would call them disorganized, poorly reasoned (the breast ettiquette essay, ridiculous), and excruciatingly difficult to force one's way through. The topics were disjointed and even for a collection of essays, the only thing that bound them was the author's insufferably pretentious tone.