The book is criticized for its narrow focus on a specific subset of the American mind, particularly upper middle class college kids born after 1995. While the advice on parenting and cognitive behavior is agreed upon, the book is seen as making vast over-generalizations and lacking data to support its claims about a broader national issue.
The book 'The Coddling of the American Mind' is praised for its advice on parenting and cognitive behavior, particularly the three untruths it identifies: your feelings are not necessarily true, the world is not good and evil, and adversity does not make you weak. However, the book is criticized for its narrow focus on a specific subset of the American mind, particularly upper middle class college kids born after 1995. The reviewer agrees with the parenting advice but argues that the book makes vast over-generalizations and lacks data to support its claims about a broader national issue. The reviewer also points out that the book ignores counter-examples and fails to provide a balanced argument. Despite these criticisms, the reviewer acknowledges the book's strengths in addressing specific problems within a particular generation.
Quick quotes
The few anecdotes highlighted are meant to be examples of a deeper problem, but to me, they are the sum total of the problem.
The authors give a nod to the fact that inequality should definitely be remedied, but they would rather you do it the right way and not call it 'social justice.
The best defense against false or immoral ideas is rigorous intellectual debate and criticism, and the censorship of ideas only makes those ideas more appealing to your opponents and to those who are never exposed to the proper criticisms.