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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Whoa, lots to think about here. And now I know that I have a lot more exploring of this to do. Fascinating, disturbing. And Sharlet is a great writer. I want to look into his podcasts and other books.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Picking up this book post election was like throwing disinfectant on a wound, but I would recommend it to anyone wanting to know how we got here and puzzling out where we can possibly go.
What a beautiful and terrifying account of our dire situation in 2024 America and how we got here.
This series of essays was very well put together. The author's observations being around Trumpers and their various conspiracy theories. The essays are informative, witty, fascinating, and frightening to varying degrees. The author has a tongue in cheek way of writing that keeps the mood light while still pointing out ironies and fallacies in logic.
It's frightening and disheartening how these people view their fellow Americans as true enemies.
I think more people should read this book.
It's frightening and disheartening how these people view their fellow Americans as true enemies.
I think more people should read this book.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I really love Sharlet’s writing, riding around in his mind while he explores the “Trumpocene”. It’s a sorrowful read presenting the evidence of civil war as something like a permanent condition - a bend always there in America towards authoritarianism that feels inevitable and unstoppable. Sharlet unveils the personal experiences and deeply ingrained mythologies that drive these deadly ideas with an extraordinary level of compassion and curiosity.
Theres an opening chapter with Harry Belafonte and a closing chapter with Lee Hays. The hope (if there is any) lies in a resistance that finds its power in different ways. Small victories often met with even bigger defeats, but it carries on nonetheless, I suppose. I’m actually not sure there is a lot of hope to be found in this book, but it is honest.
Theres an opening chapter with Harry Belafonte and a closing chapter with Lee Hays. The hope (if there is any) lies in a resistance that finds its power in different ways. Small victories often met with even bigger defeats, but it carries on nonetheless, I suppose. I’m actually not sure there is a lot of hope to be found in this book, but it is honest.
Reading this book was… a spiritual experience? A call to transcendence? I’m still processing it. I might even have to listen to it again.