Is American Scoundrel Worth Reading?
by Kai Bird
Ada’s Score
Bird chronicles the life of Roy Cohn, the lawyer and fixer who moved from the McCarthy hearings to the orbit of Donald Trump. The research is meticulous and the throughline from Cohn's era to the present is drawn with real command. At times the book strains to make Cohn emblematic of everything, flattening a genuinely strange man into a thesis. Still, it's a serious, well-built biography from a Pulitzer-caliber hand.
“Bird's control of the archive is total, and Cohn is a magnetic subject. The book is best when it lets him be strange rather than symbolic.”
Ada Brief
AI reading intelligence“Bird's control of the archive is total, and Cohn is a magnetic subject. The book is best when it lets him be strange rather than symbolic.”
American Scoundrel Review
Bird's control of the archive is total, and Cohn is a magnetic subject. The book is best when it lets him be strange rather than symbolic.
Rating: 4.2 / 5
Ada’s reservations
The book presses Cohn into an emblem of the present and flattens the man to do it. Readers wanting the individual over the thesis will chafe. The 'American Prometheus' rigor is earned; the framing overreaches.
Ada’s score reflects both strengths and reservations.
Book Details
- Language
- English
- ISBN-13
- 9781668031575
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Ada’s Score
4.2
Ada’s editorial score — not an aggregate of reader reviews.
Common Questions About American Scoundrel
- Is American Scoundrel worth reading?
- Bird's control of the archive is total, and Cohn is a magnetic subject. The book is best when it lets him be strange rather than symbolic. Ada rates it 4.2 out of 5.
- What are the main weaknesses of American Scoundrel?
- The book presses Cohn into an emblem of the present and flattens the man to do it. Readers wanting the individual over the thesis will chafe. The 'American Prometheus' rigor is earned; the framing overreaches.
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