Everyone's a Winner

“Clever but never condescending. . . . Best finds something profound in our willingness to treat our world as meaningful. “

— Publishers Weekly

“In this pithy, witty, and wise little book, Best characterizes the college rankings arms race, the new hero, and the self-congratulatory US society. . . . Highly recommended.”

— Choice

“This is a very entertaining read.”

— Bookloons Reviews

“When Joel Best begins this interesting text with a litany of extraordinary—and, to non-American eyes, cringeworthy—lists of boasting and self-congratulatory customs, from "best-of" lists identifying the top Chinese takeaways in Delaware, to schools giving out bumper stickers to their honour students (often the entire body, it transpires), my initial thought was to consign this to the "What's that to do with us?" pile. As the text develops, however, it becomes clear that this is, if not a ‘warning from history’, certainly something of a ‘heads up’ on where we seem to be going. . . . We all want a way of getting the best for ourselves, but also solidity and a firmly grounded moral compass. He [Best] raises the interesting possibility that these ends are at least contradictory, and probably incompatible.”

— Times Higher Education