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The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire
by: Matt Taibbi

List Price: $24.00

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Used Price: $13.00
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Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.93
EAN: 9780385520348
ISBN: 0385520344
Label: Spiegel & Grau
Manufacturer: Spiegel & Grau
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: May 06, 2008
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Release Date: May 06, 2008
Studio: Spiegel & Grau
Sales Rank: 3383

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:

A REVELATORY AND DARKLY COMIC ADVENTURE THROUGH A NATION ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN—FROM THE HALLS OF CONGRESS TO THE BASES OF BAGHDAD TO THE APOCALYPTIC CHURCHES OF THE HEARTLAND

Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi set out to describe the nature of George Bush’s America in the post-9/11 era and ended up vomiting demons in an evangelical church in Texas, riding the streets of Baghdad in an American convoy to nowhere, searching for phantom fighter jets in Congress, and falling into the rabbit hole of the 9/11 Truth Movement.
Matt discovered in his travels across the country that the resilient blue state/red state narrative of American politics had become irrelevant. A large and growing chunk of the American population was so turned off—or radicalized—by electoral chicanery, a spineless news media, and the increasingly blatant lies from our leaders (“they hate us for our freedom”) that they abandoned the political mainstream altogether. They joined what he calls The Great Derangement.
Taibbi tells the story of this new American madness by inserting himself into four defining American subcultures: The Military, where he finds himself mired in the grotesque black comedy of the American occupation of Iraq; The System, where he follows the money-slicked path of legislation in Congress; The Resistance, where he doubles as chief public antagonist and undercover member of the passionately bonkers 9/11 Truth Movement; and The Church, where he infiltrates a politically influential apocalyptic mega-ministry in Texas and enters the lives of its desperate congregants. Together these four interwoven adventures paint a portrait of a nation dangerously out of touch with reality and desperately searching for answers in all the wrong places.
Funny, smart, and a little bit heartbreaking, The Great Derangement is an audaciously reported, sobering, and illuminating portrait of America at the end of the Bush era.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Rolling Stone reporter spies on America's disaffected idiots
Taibbi commendably takes his journalist spotlight off the corrupt actors on Washington's center stage, and instead investigates the most disaffected ordinary Americans. But to do so he goes undercover, posing as a believer in far right-wing Christian-Zionism, or far-left 9/11 conspiracy theories. He basically plays Borat, inventing oddball past experiences to play his part, and letting the unsuspecting locals make fools of themselves for the camera. Later Taibbi gives his real opinions of what idiots they are, and asks what America is coming to.

Only slowly does Taibbi's basic compassion for these people rise to the fore. These are people, he reasons, both conservatives and liberals, who feel so conned by the political rip-off system that they can't tell who to trust. And maybe, ... Read More

Rating:

- Interesting
I really enjoyed this book. The author has a good sense of humor and his adventures are quite interesting. Probably not for you if you are sensitive about religion.

Rating:

- Most Excellent
This book was a complete eye-opener. Literally prying open the third eye. Must read for any remaining free-thinking Americans. Matt Taibbi is absolutely brilliant.

Rating:

- Witty and Insightful!
Much of the book focuses on the insider game in Washington, the non-functioning government bent on both sides twisting reality while continuing to rake in millions from big business. Meanwhile, Boeing, G.M., and Ford are headed towards becoming Chinese companies, and OPEC is likely to begin trading in the Euro. In between safaris into our government, Taibbi also reports on his immersions into both far-Right evangelical religion and far-left (?) 9/11 Truthers, finding them both living in an imaginary world. The common link in all this nuttiness - Madison Avenue and its world of make-believe messages and promises.

It was shocking to read that the "06 election saw political parties spend $160 million on negative ads, vs. only $17 million on the positive. Debate has mostly been removed ... Read More

Rating:

- "Seem like every time you stop and turn around, something else just hit the ground"
An anecdote in journalist Matt Taibbi's book THE GREAT DERANGEMENT proves a snapshot of what's wrong with America. Covering the United States Congress in action, Taibbi witnesses legislation that is nothing more than a gift to well-off campaign contributors. Without shame, lawmakers approve it. The author attends a press conference regarding the bill where reporters ask zero tough questions, leaving the public they purportedly serve to figure out there's nothing in this for them except the tab they have to pick up.

The United States government is letting the moneyed interests from which it should protect citizens run it. And with corporations owning more than 95% of media and not about to report what they pilfer, too many Americans do not get the news they need to know.

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