Critical Mass: Four Decades of Essays, Reviews, Hand Grenades, and Hurrahs - Tapa blanda

"Epic, and epically rewarding. . . . A vacuum-packed anthology of tight arguments and shrewd observations." --The New York Times Book Review

"[Wolcott] is the preeminent critic of contemporary spectacle, matching his own supercharged style to the highlights of forty years of TV, pop music, books, and movies." --The New York Review of Books

"If any book could stir up my moldering competitive instincts, Critical Mass is the one. . . . Back in those long-gone Voice days, not a few of us cockily fancied that we were--or were going to be--pretty good. Jim was better." --Tom Carson, Bookforum

"One of America's finest cultural critics." --Flavorwire

"In an age of inane Twitter commentary, 'likes, ' and instant publication, one of the few critics standing athwart our culture and writing serious criticism is James Wolcott. . . . Critical Mass collects some of his most winning assassinations." --The Daily Beast

"Wolcott is a wickedly cunning, agile writer with a special talent for quick-sketch characterizations. . . . Critical Mass is the perfect bedside-table book because its short entries promise pleasure from even the briefest dips into its pages." --Richmond Times-Dispatch

"The thought hits every now and then when I read another critic: I wish I had written that sentence. Reading James Wolcott, though, 'every now and then' turns into every paragraph. . . . Sacred cows and conventional wisdom don't stand a chance against his pen." --Chris Vognar, The Dallas Morning News

"This book offers a sublime buzz." --Prospect Magazine

"Forthright and fair-minded, but ferocious in disdain, with the sly, smart voice of someone in the know but never caught up in the moment, this collection." --Publishers Weekly

"An eclectic collection that reasserts the author's reputation as one of America's most perceptive, candid and human critics." --Kirkus Reviews