While academic texts are not usually my forte I did enjoy this collection of essays. Nonfiction is a particularly hard genre for me to read I did enjoy this collection. Thank you for the opportunity to review the book!

Thanks to NetGalley and The Atlantic for the advanced copy. A great collection of essays by one of the Atlantic’s frequent cover story writers. I’m not so sure each essay fits with the titular theme of thinking for yourself, but they are nonetheless among the best and often funniest pieces of nonfiction prose I have read. Two standouts are Flanagan’s investigative piece on fraternities and the Meghan Markle essay. I do wish this collection included her expose on private schools. I recommend to anyone who is a fan of nonfiction that lets the writer’s personality shine through.

a decently intriguing collection of essays, most of which i wish would have been expanded into longer works, or at least accompanied by notes divulging some form of context they were published in. the essay on fraternities was by far my favorite, mostly because it felt finished and well-researched (and I actually discovered something new).

Flanagan is an excellent writer with a real command of language. Her ability to gracefully present opposing sides of complicated issues is something to savor, maybe even envy.

But I was disappointed in these essays. Were they lifted straight out of the Atlantic's backlog? If so, they feel unrevised and incomplete. I'm certain that it's difficult for a writer to dust off old material and expand on research they've already conducted years earlier just to contextualize and modernize it. But the thing is, I've seen writers successfully expand on previously-published material and make a 250+ page book from it. It could be this is just a quirk of the Atlantic Editions series, but I felt that this collection, brief as it is, was a letdown. It made me want more in a way that was not satisfying.

Also, the subtitle has nothing to do with the essays of the collection, except in the brief introductory pages outlining what's to come. Felt baited by the strong title--reminded me of John Dewey's work--but confused as to why the essays included in the collection belonged under this title.

Thanks to the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for a review. This book is a great collection of essays written by Caitlin Flanagan, originally published in the New Yorker. All make the case against polarization and for independent thinking.