Most authors can only dream of receiving the high-profile roll out that George Packer has enjoyed since last month's publication of his critically acclaimed book, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America. Not only did the book make the NY Times best-seller list and get coverage on NPR and cable news programs, but Packer also made appearances on The Daily Show and Real Time with Bill Maher, talking about his latest work, which depicts an America in crisis — if not total decline — since the late 1970's.
He certainly aroused attention in the Tampa Bay area after the New York Times' Dwight Garner wrote in a glowing review that Packer made Tampa, who Garner described as one of the five main characters of the book, "seem like hell on earth now."
"I was interested in Tampa as an example of a Sunbelt growth capital," Packer told CL in a phone interview conducted last Friday morning, explaining why he focused on the Bay area as part of his examination of the country (there are four chapters about Tampa).