Brook, Daniel 1978(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1978. Education: Yale University, graduated.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Philadelphia, PA.

CAREER:

Journalist.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Winner, Rolling Stone College Journalist Competition, 2000.

WRITINGS:

The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America, Times Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including Harper's, Dissent, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Boston Globe.

SIDELIGHTS:

Daniel Brook grew up on Long Island with parents who fell into a category he refers to as public-interest professionals. His mother was a doctor for a nursing home, and his father was a prosecuting attorney. Brook graduated from Yale and became a journalist, working out of Philadelphia as a freelancer and writing for such publications as Harper's, Dissent, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Boston Globe. Brook realized that, out of all his high school and college friends, he was one of the few who was actually pursuing a career that interested him. Many of his peers had settled for less noble professions than they had originally aspired; they were high-powered professionals in the private sector and earning large salaries, though most did not enjoy their work. Their reasons for their choices were not purely material, though; although they liked their standard of living, their primary motivation for following less public-minded or creative job paths was that the salary gap between the two types of employment was monumental. If they wanted to eventually have the same life their parents had enjoyed—marriage, a house, children—they needed to earn far more money than their dream jobs would provide.

Brook set out to do an in-depth study on the evolution of the American economy that has created this conundrum for the up-and-coming generations of workers. He posited that while people with few advantages are often forced to work hard to get ahead and overcome their lack of financial support and/or education, the elite and middle class have traditionally been able to rise above menial labor. There has always been an understanding that attending an ivy league college, or graduating with a solid degree from another respected institution, allowed one to pursue almost any dream career. Brook, however, became aware that times have changed; many are forced to sacrifice their dreams just to keep up with the standards of the previous generation. This decision, once referred to as "selling out," is becoming more and more of a necessity for anyone interested in what most consider a normal family life.

The American dream has gotten to be wildly expensive. In The Trap: Selling Out to Stay Afloat in Winner-Take-All America, Brook offers readers an inside look at the stories of many such individuals. He addresses the economic and political issues that he believes are behind this twist in the standard of living. While average, store-bought items can be found in a variety of price ranges, the cost of necessities such as housing, health care, and a college education has soared out of proportion to everything else. He points out that a person can go to stores such as Ikea and purchase a couch at a reasonable price, making them feel successful and financially stable—but the rent on the apartment where they will sit on that couch could easily break the bank.

Some critics of The Trap praised Brook's timely and intelligent work, while others found fault with certain inconsistencies in his examples and his logic. Writing for Publishers Weekly, one reviewer asserted that "Brook preaches too narrowly to the choir … and his solutions are limited." A Kirkus Reviews contributor remarked, though, that "Brook has done his homework," and went on to dub his book "the debut of a sharp new pundit." In a review for Buzz Flash, Thom Hartmann declared that Brook's effort is "one of the most brilliant and important books to come along in many years."