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taylorkinsey's review against another edition
2.0
Although I likely agree with this author, his writing was condescending and under-researched. At times he seemed to make assertions as if from no other basis than his own opinion, which is obviously very weak writing.
nina_the_reader's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.0
rnr2117's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
alexisrt's review against another edition
3.0
This is a good book, but inside it is a great one struggling to get out. Andersen's thesis of a national tendency towards the fantastical is a good one, but he's trying to cover too much territory at once. Almost every element of recent history, including pop culture, is fair game, and it makes for a lot of short chapters on topics that could fill a book in themselves.
While Andersen rightfully aims his pen at all sides--left wing New Agers and the right wing evangelicals--some of the writing on religion in particular feels off. He's too obviously scoffing, and is no religious scholar, making some fairly elementary errors. (The New Testament was not written in Hebrew!)
It's still a worthwhile read, and a fun one, but it could have been even better. I dithered between 3 and 4 and decided to play bad cop.
While Andersen rightfully aims his pen at all sides--left wing New Agers and the right wing evangelicals--some of the writing on religion in particular feels off. He's too obviously scoffing, and is no religious scholar, making some fairly elementary errors. (The New Testament was not written in Hebrew!)
It's still a worthwhile read, and a fun one, but it could have been even better. I dithered between 3 and 4 and decided to play bad cop.
mr_sosotris's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.25
Very informative and decently balanced. The book isn’t as intersectional as I’d like. The author is coming from a very comfortable place of white privilege, and so he’s very much speaking to a white middle class audience. I greatly appreciated how this book addresses certain aspects of American culture in the past ten twenty years such as the astounding influence of the gun lobby and the shift in white Christian Fundamentalism and White Nationalism.
I was surprised that he never touched on the QAnon movement. Perhaps he didn’t think they were worth discussing, or he wanted to avoid stirring up that particular hornet’s nest for personal safety reasons, but I was surprised that they at least didn’t get a passing mention like Scientology did.
I think the broad strokes of this book are thoughtful and insightful. The concept of seeing beliefs as more important than facts, the rise of fundamentalist Christians, the proliferation of conspiracy theories, and the way Donald Trump specifically manipulated the masses were all very well handled.
There were some specifics that seemed a bit puzzling (such as an uncritical belief that the Final Fantasy video game series and a rise of the popularity of cosplay are upsetting symptoms of America’s losing their grip on reality). Obviously, he discusses things on a spectrum, and shows how engaging in fantasy here and there is fine, but it becomes harmful when one loses their grip on reality. I HIGHLY doubt that cosplayers and Final Fantasy aficionados are all that similar to religious fanatics (though who knows, tons of fandoms can be pretty toxic). Besides, both of these things were imported from Japan.
Anyways, overall, I did find this book very insightful and illuminating. I would highly recommend reading it.
I was surprised that he never touched on the QAnon movement. Perhaps he didn’t think they were worth discussing, or he wanted to avoid stirring up that particular hornet’s nest for personal safety reasons, but I was surprised that they at least didn’t get a passing mention like Scientology did.
I think the broad strokes of this book are thoughtful and insightful. The concept of seeing beliefs as more important than facts, the rise of fundamentalist Christians, the proliferation of conspiracy theories, and the way Donald Trump specifically manipulated the masses were all very well handled.
There were some specifics that seemed a bit puzzling (such as an uncritical belief that the Final Fantasy video game series and a rise of the popularity of cosplay are upsetting symptoms of America’s losing their grip on reality). Obviously, he discusses things on a spectrum, and shows how engaging in fantasy here and there is fine, but it becomes harmful when one loses their grip on reality. I HIGHLY doubt that cosplayers and Final Fantasy aficionados are all that similar to religious fanatics (though who knows, tons of fandoms can be pretty toxic). Besides, both of these things were imported from Japan.
Anyways, overall, I did find this book very insightful and illuminating. I would highly recommend reading it.