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Customer Reviews of American Prospect

Quality Decline
The American Prospect is a newcomer to liberal policy magazines. It began with a bit of an academic bent with many contributions from faculty at the Kennedy School of Governement in particular. The strength of the Prospect lied in its in depth coverage of social policy issues including housing, welfare reform, globalization, prison reform, and education. However, in the past year The Prospect has lost this focus and has overwhelmingly dissolved into the typical partisan coverage of the presidential administration and the War in Iraq, losing sight of the social and economic policy issues it once addressed. The writing has improved in some areas due to its change from a weekly to a monthly publication, however the writing quality has decreased in some areas due to an increasing reliance on articles from "fellows" (read...fresh out of college interns).
After two years of subscription I have decided not to renew and have moved to The Atlantic.

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Good Stuff
A relatively new political magazine, TAP offers a decent alternative to the Limbaughers who seem to dominate today's media. The Nation and The Progressive are a bit better for today's left, but TAP is heads and shoulders above The New Republic in it's presentation of liberalism in America today.

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Essential publication, with impressive contributers
I discovered The American Prospect by way of a "Society & Economics" class I took in college. I was assigned a book named "Everything for Sale", which was authored by Robert Kuttner. At first, I thought the book looked commercial and was suprised it was being used in a college setting. However, as I read the book, I was impressed by the author's insight and knowledge of a host of things having to do with politics, society and economics. I simply had to find out more about the author. After looking up the author's name on the net, I discovered The American Prospect, a magazine with an impressive list of contributers and editiors.

The American Prospect was founded and is currently edited by Kuttner and Princeton professor Paul Starr. Former Labor Secretary and Brandeis Professor Robert Reich serves as national editor. The magazine's contributing editors and correspondents are equally remarkable, and includes such names as Peter Schrag, Randall Kennedy, Christopher Jencks, Alan Brinkley, Robert Putnam, Cass R. Sunstein, Lester C. Thurow and William Julius Wilson. Although not a subscriber, I have read the magazine occasionally over the years, and have followed its transition from a bimonthly to the biweekly publication it is today. Overall, I am impressed with the analysis, depth and eloquence of the feature articles and the broad range of issues covered.

Even so, I wished more emphasis were placed on cultural and ideological topics. The American Prospect advertises itself as magazine of "policy and culture" but - from my experience with reading the magazine - the focus has been mostly on the policy side of the equation. It is perfectly alright to seek to influence policy and have a voice in the political arena, but I think including more stories about ideas and culture would make the magazine more appealing to the individual subscriber. Otherwise, I think this magazine is an eloquent and absolutely essential voice in our national discussion, and I highly recommend it.