Contrary to todays widespread emphasis on cultural diversity the United States has become not a multicultural society but the worlds first postcultural society. Cultures Christopher Clausen argues have lost power over both public and private behavior. This largely unrecognized transformation has enormous importance for every area of American life from marriage to politics. One of its most prevalent social expressions is an aimless conformist individualismbecause there is no longer any source of authority or value outside the self. The multiculturalism of leftist politics and the family values of the right are both futile expressions of nostalgia for a world differently interpreted of course that is gone forever. In Faded Mosaic Mr. Clausen brings his analysis down to earth with telling illustrations from contemporary life. He demonstrates how the moral demands and collective identities of Americas native and immigrant cultures have vanished. In striking contrast to societies of the past he declares the United States today has neither one big culture nor many smaller ones only a dizzying mixture of freedom and nostalgia. Original and penetrating a serious critique.... It is the great virtue of Faded Mosaic that Mr. Clausen describes our present condition without hysterics or posturingbut with the caution objectivity and concern that the subject deserves.Eric Cohen Wall Street Journal.