The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of...

The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American ... | Matt Taibbi | Simply Awesome

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The Great Derangem...

	The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American ... Matt Taibbi Spiegel & Grau, 2008 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 40 reviews view larger image
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Highly Recommended

Super quick read because this book is well-written, well-edited, insightful, thought-provoking, and funny.

Taibbi juxtaposes the 9/11 Truth Movement with Jim Hagee's San Antonio Texas-based evangelical politico-religious cult (organized into cells like al-Qa'ida so that it can survive an attack) to illustrate the blue/red, liberal/conservative polarization of Americans manufactured by the media and political elite using the age-old technique of divide and conquer so that they can continue to use the U.S. government and political system for their self-aggrandizement and monopoly on power.

Taibbi also talks about the atomization of U.S. culture and society which is aided by the Internet and the degradation of the U.S. media into infotainment rather than news. Taibbi cannot help pointing out how uninformed many Americans are and how quick many Americans are to accept conspiracy theories (note -- most of the world readily accept conspiracy theories but often that can be explained by having grown up in cultures in which the government never tells the truth and cannot be trusted -- wait a minute that sound like what the U.S. government is or is becoming).

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Simply Awesome

An insightful, definitely provocative treatise on the current American psyche. Add in Matt's unique, somewhat gonzo-style, and it's a very entertaining read to boot.

excellent

Great book written by a powerful writer. It is no wonder it hit the NY Times top ten as soon as it hit the shelves.
Rick O.

Food for Thought

Matt Tabbi's book The Great Derangement was a fascinating read. Under a false identity, Tabbi spent time with Matthew Hagee's Cornerstone Church, slowly going through the indocrination process. He also spent some time with a 9/11 conspiracy group, who believe the US government is responsible, directly or indirectly, for the attacks. He also intersperses chapters on governmental procedures and happenings between his church and conspiracy saga. There's a also a brief chapter describing his embedment with a unit in Iraq.

His premise is basically that in our society, many people have chosen to kind of check out and embrace some of these out there kind of organizations or any kind of group or feedback that supports their own point of view. The stories he tells of the people he meets in these organizations are at the same time sad, frustrating, funny, and uplifting. At times, Tabbi seems to be mocking the people involved, but them he'll find himself sympathizing with them as well. I like the fact that he doesn't come off as perfect in the book himself, or like a detached anthropologist studying people as if they were scientific specimens. The fact that he seems like a jerk sometimes underscores how all of us feel somewhat alienated from each other in this modern society.

The chapters on governmental procedure, namely his description of how unrelated items get added to bills really was eye-opening and more than a little frightening. To see that there really isn't much of a difference between the parties, other than their lobbyist loyalties was somewhat discouraging as well.

Highly recommended if you're looking for something to think about.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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