Reviews

The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage by Jared Yates Sexton

alxsrbraun's review against another edition

3.0

I was excited to read The People Are Going to Rise, because I, like many other people who are reading this book I'm sure, follow Jared Yates Sexton on Twitter and followed his reporting during the last election cycle. However, I can't say that the book lived up to its promise for me. Rather than analyzing the rage felt by many Americans, Sexton's book is more of a rehash of his reporting from the election. Due in part to Sexton's own reporting during the election (and the work of other great journalists who covered campaign events during the election), I was already aware of much of what this book contains. The book unfortunately didn't tell me anything I didn't already know and was so light on analysis of the events contained therein that it had a feel of reading a long article I'd read a while ago but was reading again to refresh myself on. I think what a lot of us are hoping for are books that explain the election or at least offer possible explanations, arguments, or theories. For me, The People Are Going to Rise was too light on that analysis. I didn't want to read about what Jared Yates Sexton saw at a campaign event during the election (I already knew that) - I wanted to read Jared Yates Sexton's opinions (based on the reporting he did during the election) about why what happened happened. Maybe other readers will get more from this book than I did. But I wanted more, and I'm not sure that this book adds to the conversation about the election in a meaningful way. (Additionally, the way the book was organized was a distraction to me and affected the flow of the book. And, as other reviewers have pointed out, there were several mistakes in the text that I was surprised weren't caught during the editing process.)

jereshkigal's review against another edition

3.0

I just finished reading this book. Initially, when I first picked up this book, I thought it was going to be on growing unrest in the US. It turned out to be a book about a liberal man’s perspective on the 2016 presidential race. It was an interesting read that gave me a glimpse into the liberal point of view of the race. I wish, however, that the book would’ve been more unbiased and would’ve given a more neutral account of the events within the election. It was still interesting though.

redbecca's review against another edition

4.0

an impressionistic representation of the 2016 presidential campaign that includes a chapter on "Bernie or Bust" ppl at the Dem convention as well as a description of the Green Party convention. Some of his impressions really capture a mood or feeling well. As an overall portrait of the zeitgeist, it's good, and I'd recommend it for what it says about the general mood of the electorate. I was at the Disrupt J20 protests and had a very different experience from what he describes - and that is the flaw in reporting based so much on one person's perspective. I don't doubt his experience, but he chased reports of vandalism with other packs of reporters. It was also possible to spend an entire day on the streets of DC among protesters on the day of the inauguration without encountering any vandalism or violence, only to hear about it on the news later. The one thing he does get right about that day is how few Trump supporters were anywhere - they were very much outnumbered by protesters on the streets around the entrances to the mall, where vendors had such a hard time selling MAGA hats that one enterprising dude tried to get people to buy the hats so that they could burn them! The fact that Sexton often describes himself drinking makes me wonder whether he was trying to do a sort of Hunter Thompson treatment, but this book doesn't rise to that level of "gonzo."

anavara's review

informative sad slow-paced

3.0

peachycat's review

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

4.5

desertflame6's review against another edition

5.0

I read this and was angry and frustrated and afraid, but mostly angry. Stay woke.

kristendom's review against another edition

4.0

I'll be honest, the main reason I couldn't give this book all five stars was because it was so hard to read. It was hard to read because there were signs I felt like we should have seen. It was hard to read because it reminded me that our issues as a country cannot be assigned to a few racist, sexist, not awesome people, but that there is half of our country who is hurting and thought Donald Trump was the answer. It was hard because there was someone who only wanted to share the truth, and for that he was hunted and threatened and had to fear for his life. That is what truth means in our country right now.
So yes, it was hard. But it is important. I highly recommend this for all Americans to read to see where things went wrong, where things went off the rails, where we can do better. Sexton is a natural storyteller, and I really appreciated his reporting on the messed up state of our politics.

gardo's review against another edition

5.0

Very well written. It reminds me of Hunter S Thompson but without feeling like parody or a bad imitation.

It’s about US politics but I feel like it contains some useful things for Canadians to consider. Please let’s not go down the same road as the US.

smkiszka's review against another edition

3.0

I know I read this earlier this year so my memory is fuzzy, but this is a great look at the election and the aftermath. Highly recommend!

veefuller's review

challenging dark informative tense fast-paced

5.0

Damn.

I have do much respect for any and all journalist who covered the presidential campaigns and elections from 2015 onward. I cannot imagine the levels of abuse hurled at them.

I've been following Jared Yates Sexton for some time on both Twitter and YouTube. This was an eye-opening view of 2015 through Trump's inauguration, and a rather depressing and startling glimpse of those who voted for him.

We have a lot of work to do, y'all.