Book Excerpt:"Certainly for displays of overindulgence and tasteless materialism, the Clinton years had few equals in previous decades. Everywhere you looked, yet more signs of extravagance and wealth appeared....Shattered were boundaries of good taste-the term itself had virtually ceased to exist, and with good reason. Cashing in commercially on celebrity, on tragedy, on infamy were so commonplace, so expected, that they barely attracted any notice."Book Excerpt:"While the reporter [Douglas A. Blackmon, Wall Street Journal] conceded that 'some of these new American tastes are merely signs of conspicuous consumption in a gluttonous era,' his larger conclusion correctly captured the positive side of the American people and their culture at the millennium: 'Historic levels of wealth, educational attainment and cultural exposure have converged over the past decade in such a way that the lowest common denominator of American culture is rising rapidly. Hardly any place is remote as it once was. Contrary to the wails of many cultural critics, middle-class, mainstream Americans have become, simply put, sophisticated."First Chapter Excerpt:Deep (RS/6000 SP) Blue"I'm a human being. When I see something that is well beyond my understanding, I'm afraid."Garry Kasparov wasn't just another great chess player, the master of all grandmasters. By universal agreement, he was the greatest chess player in history. In the spring of 1997, at the age of thirty-four, at the peak of the long boom, he had held his world championship for twelve years. Never once had he lost a multigame match against an individual opponent. Never once had he displayed anything but absolute assurance in his chess genius. His attitude toward any rival bordered on the contemptuous, a trait he displayed again after winning, as expected, the first of six games in his heralded rematch that May in New York against an opponent he had soundly defeated just a year before.As the match resumed, chess experts who gathered to watch the great champion crush his foe witnessed something so unexpected they were left speechless. They were not alone. Millions of observers intently following the contest over the Internet via worldwide television hookups were astonished to see Kasparov show uncharacteristic signs of confusion. First, he displayed growing doubt, followed by dismay, despair, and loss of control. Finally, he seemed to be having an emotional breakdown. He appeared to be terror stricken.The first sign that the champion was on the verge of a crack-up came during the second game. It was then that Kasparov encountered something unique in his experience. In the past, he was always able to exploit an opponent's weaknesses by understanding the pattern of thought being employed against him. This time he could not.That second game ended in a draw. Another draw followed. Then his opponent won a game. When the contestants resumed play on a Saturday, the match was dead even. Kasparov began aggre Excerpted from The Best of Times: America in the Clinton Years by Haynes Johnson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
