Mr. Brustein turns his witty, penetrating, and sometimes scathing gaze on the various scourges afflicting high art in America, from the Supreme Court's endorsement of NEA content restrictions, through the breakdown of taste and standards as a consequence of political correctness, to the failure of arts education and the exaltation of amateurism. Mr. Brustein also celebrates the best that is being thought and written in America, analyzing the major theatrical achievements of the decade.