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A review by bootman
Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild
3.0
As a liberal who is also intrigued by human behavior and how we think, I think it's important to understand the thought processes of the right. After having this book referenced in multiple other books, I decided to check it out, and I was severely disappointed. In my opinion, it's extremely overrated. I figured it'd be great for me since Hochschild is a social psychologist, but it wasn't. The book barely touches on any psychological theories and it's in no way a book backed with significant data.
If you like good storytelling and want to read about a liberal social psychologist from Berkely who moved to Louisiana to interview Tea Party members, this book might be great for you. I did learn a lot about how awful the local government treats Louisiana residents, and I'm shocked at how the locals she spoke to still support their government. But again, this is a very microscopic view of the right, and there's probably less than a dozen people she "analyzed". I think there are far better books if you're trying to understand the other side as a whole.
If you like good storytelling and want to read about a liberal social psychologist from Berkely who moved to Louisiana to interview Tea Party members, this book might be great for you. I did learn a lot about how awful the local government treats Louisiana residents, and I'm shocked at how the locals she spoke to still support their government. But again, this is a very microscopic view of the right, and there's probably less than a dozen people she "analyzed". I think there are far better books if you're trying to understand the other side as a whole.