This books is for anyone who wants a new vision for our country and wants to see us live up to our potential. Ezra Klein is so thoughtful on so many topics and this is no exception. Everyone should read this and discuss it with their book clubs!

I thought Abundance was very thoughtful and offered a devastating critique of how liberalism has gone astray in recent decades, especially on the West Coast. I've already recommended it to my 2 million followers on Twitter and may again. I also appreciated that Klein and Thompson acknowledge nuances and don't overstate their case, making the point that the restrictions that bother them also serve a purpose. To me, that made their arguments even more persuasive. I realize that some on the left have been profoundly indignant about this book, but I found it a tonic and just right for this moment.

6/10

I’m a big fan of Ezra Klein. I think he’s incredibly smart. His podcast is always insightful and he’s an absurdly talented writer.

In fact, the writing in Abundance is really good and easy to read - exactly what I’d expect from Ezra. He tells stories and shares insights that make me think about politics and democracy in new ways.

The problem with this book, and it’s a big problem, can best be described by quoting Steve Martin from “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”:

‘Let me give you some advice: when you tell a story, it’s helpful to have a point.”

Unfortunately there is little to no through line in this book. There’s no great revelation, no call to action, no description of what we should do in order to create this so called abundance.

I may not be the smartest guy in the world but I’m not an idiot - and I couldn’t figure out how the different chapters even relate to each other.

I was hoping for a strong belief and an argument to convince me of it. What I got is a pleasant read with no point that I will probably forget about in the next week or two.

It’s a shame. I was really excited for this book.

#netgalley #abundance

Ezra often drives me insane with his earnestness and lack of knowledge about communities outside the liberal elite of CA and NYC, but I agree with this book's thesis and am glad he wrote it. However, as a longtime devotee of the work of Matthew Yglesias, his former podcast co-host, most of this is old news. In Abundance, Klein and Thompson have basically given the masses a Yglesias for Dummies, which is great if these ideas are new to you!

I sincerely hope Democrats pick this one up and actually read it. We need to change.and we need to do it fast.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I will come back to provide a review when I am able to read the book -- unfortunately, time does not permit me to give this book the attention it deserves.

This was a pretty big let down for me, I wanted to feel inspired and excited by the thinking in this book. Their thesis is very thin and feels more like two guys lecturing the reader on all that is wrong than actually providing a vision for a world of abundance instead of scarcity. Mostly it is a few essays expanded and tacked together, which is a bummer because we could use real rigorous thinking about how to create better futures and systems. The writing is good but the arguments are lacking.

For a book about political paradigms, this was great. Klein and Thompson set out to paint their theory of abundance across many sectors (housing, immigration, climate change, innovation) at a time when the political right had laid its bets on a message of scarcity and the fear of it. They argue that by the government should serve the role of creating abundance where it's needed, but should do so by knowing how to be involved and where to get out of the way.

The authors trace the origins of some of the biggest challenges our government and politics face today, such as the housing shortage, difficulty in building, climate change and expediting clean energy, immigration and worker shortages, innovation hampered by bureaucracy and huge price tags. What they find is that the blame can often be laid at the feet of Democrats and liberals because actions taken decades ago to address decades-old problems have morphed into different beasts entirely.

In a very readable and engaging way, they explain how complex parts of our society interface with government and what the challenges are. As a Democrat, I found this to be illuminating and this book gave me more perspective on why Republicans and the conservative right are frustrated with government today. There are many examples of spending too much with too little to show for it. But, the authors argue, it doesn't have to be that way, and in fact we have many examples of the American government achieving incredible things in nimble and innovative ways that benefit society and Americans, and even citizens abroad.

This book gave me a bigger and deeper perspective of the American political landscape today, and helped me better understand how the government functions in certain sectors. There's a lot of room for improvement, but there's also abundant potential and ultimately the book left me feeling hopeful.

Although this is a book that talks a lot about government and politics, it's not just for readers who are Democrat. The authors mostly focus on thoughtful criticism of Democrats, and praise Republicans where praise is due. I would recommend this book to anyone who follows politics and enjoys thoughtful explorations of politics and government. I would especially recommend it to Democrats who feel outraged about the actions of the new administration. This book does not justify their actions, but I do think it helps give perspective to why we might have ended up here. Importantly, it offers a different vision of the future. I would love to think that this book will end up in the right hands of people with the power to implement many of the ideas in this book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book for review.