Generation of Vipers: newly annotated by the author
by Philip Wylie
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Perhaps the most vitriolic attack ever launched on the American way of living--from politicians to professors to businessmen to Mom to sexual mores to religion--"Generation of Vipers"?ranks with the works of De Tocqueville and Emerson in defining the American character and malaise.Tags
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Member Reviews
Philip Wylie was one of the American social critics who have my respect. From the 1920's onward, he was a clear opponent of the American adulation of "Mothers" of the authoritarian stamp. He was also a clear stylist who illuminated the worlds of "Who Dunnits" and early Science fiction (anyone remember "When Worlds Collide?") To the glory of American Society he was able to have a long career as an iconoclast, and died while on vacation, after 71 years of life.
This book impressed me as a teenager. Dystopian novels are not a new phenomena!
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Picking it up again after four decades, I remembered little about it except (of course) mom and a general atmosphere of splenetic outrage. As it turned out, "Generation of Vipers" did not come through a second reading in very good shape. The spectacle of someone making an absolute fool of himself is always enjoyable, so watching Wylie put himself through these ridiculous paces was amusing, but show more "Generation of Vipers" is warmed-over H.L. Mencken with only occasional hints of Mencken's wit or perspicacity. Along the way Wylie says a few smart things, but give a chimpanzee 100,000 words and one or two of them are likely, against all odds, to make a bit of sense. Mostly the book is high-octane twaddle, fun to read but incapable of withstanding close scrutiny. show less
added by LolaWalser
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The Torchlight List
95 works; 1 member
Author Information
56+ Works 3,142 Members
Philip Wylie was a popular author of pulp fiction, sci-fi, and mysteries, as well as social commentary and nonfiction titles on a variety of subjects. His works include When Worlds Collide, Gladiator, and Generation of Vipers.
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Notable Lists
Torchlight List (#68)
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Generation of Vipers: newly annotated by the author
- Original title
- Generation of Vipers
- Original publication date
- 1942
- Important places
- America
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 218
- Popularity
- 149,321
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.83)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 24
