Synopsis Poverty, racism and sexism are rife within the US, but, in truth, the conditions for major social change are not yet in evidence. This short book of three essays offers an assessment of the contradictions of US life, of the attempts by its economic and political managers to stabilize their dominance (by incarceration, mainly), and of the few social agents at work to transform what Mao called a “paper tiger.” The paper tiger continues to growl—this is the subject of Vijay Prashad’s short book of essays.