The Meaning of Authenticity

King writes, "It's a provocative book and a conflicted one, and the conflict is what gives it life. Zukin's premise is that her adopted New York City has "lost its soul" to homogenization and globalization and all those things progressives loathe, but she's too perceptive and thorough an observer not to grant that reality is more complex.

Yes, she bemoans the changes in her East Village neighborhood, how "the local struggles against wealth and power" have been superseded by "trendy restaurants, chain stores and expensive, renovated apartments.""