"Love & Fury tells a story that comprises four generations of an American family, examining the continuing impact of history as it shapes the lives of people struggling with the complexities of contemporary life. At the book's core are the author's questions about boyhood, fatherhood, and grandfatherhood, and about the way we have absorbed and incorporated the compelling imagery of post WWII America and its values, especially regarding class, war, women, race, masculinity, violence, divinity, and wealth.Love & Fury draws connections between past and present, drawing from personal narrative an examination of the social, familial, and ethical contours of American life. From the author's grandfather, a "breaker boy" sent down into the anthracite mines of Pennsylvania at the age of 10, to his young grandson whose father is among the estimated million young black men incarcerated today, here is the complicated story of a 21st century American family. With deep insight into how we have been made, and how we might remake the future, Hoffman's inquiry into the consequences of brutality and violence, both personal and historic, helps define the work to be done, the work of being responsive and responsible, work that begins with knowing and embracing hard truths.It isn't pretty. But it is beautiful. "--
