The estimable Joseph Epstein-essayist, past editor of The American Scholar, and recipient of the 2003 National Humanities Medal along with Hal Holbrook and John Updike-brings together a collection of essays exploring what he calls the "new virtue of victimhood." With a critical eye toward current trends in politics and culture, where "affirmative-action politicians" are voted into office not for their intrinsic qualities but by the accidents of their birth, Epstein examines the nature of victimhood and the role it plays in contemporary society.