“First of all, let me say that I fit Julia Moulden's description of a "New Radical", despite being only 35 year-old. As such, this book seemed an unsettling piece of serendipity. Reading the first pages, I recognized myself so immediately in Moulden's description of "New Radicals" that it brought me to tears: I too felt a yearning to do something more with my life, a desire to leave it all behind and join the ranks of those who strive to better Mankind.
...except I couldn't shake a feeling that there was something wrong with this book. I don't want to accuse Moulden of trying to cash in on a trend she noticed in baby boomers; but that's really how her book comes across. She talks about her "clients", baby boomers who need guidance to reorient their career to a more meaningful cause. I'm sure she does this out of a genuine desire to help, but it feels like a business all the same.
I ended up abandoning Moulden's book. It had given me one very simple piece of information I needed: that there are others out there who felt the same way I do, and did something about it. The rest of her advice and attempts at classifying and analyzing this so-called "movement", I feel, are off the mark. And so, I'll read on the subjects I feel passionate about instead; I feel as if all I really needed from this book was the knowledge of its existence.”
Daniel Roy wrote this review Thursday, January 15 2009.
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