An important investigation into the radicalization of far-right American lawmakers.
An engrossing and disturbing examination of the conspiracy theories leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and the right-wing lawmakers who gleefully perpetuated them.
Journalist Draper has interviewed many of the protagonists floating the baseless theories that, as election-denier Marjorie Taylor Greene believes, “their once‐great country [is] under assault from within.” The author digs deep into the “big lie” and how conservative conspiracy theories took root and began to run rampant during the Obama administration—questioning the former president’s birthplace and demonizing Hillary Clinton—all in an effort to obstruct any Democratic progress in Congress. Draper considers many important strands in the story, including “enabler” Kevin McCarthy’s raw ambition and transactional relationships on Capitol Hill; how Greene tapped into the right-wing hysteria in her Georgia district and effectively rode former President Donald Trump’s coattails; and the vast network of absurd QAnon conspiracy theories: a pizza-parlor sex-trafficking operation, the importance of fighting against the work of George Soros, the idea of a complicit, “mockingbird” media, and the cheerleading role played by Alex Jones and InfoWars. As the author shows, Paul Gosar, a Republican congressman and dentist whose district in Arizona is one of the most conservative in America, became the first and most vociferous of the “Stop the Steal” election deniers, while Greene spent months vilifying Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Biden administration’s attempts to mitigate the disastrous effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Draper also explores Liz Cheney’s defiance of McCarthy and MAGA extremism, especially her view that the second impeachment trial represents a dangerous missed opportunity for Republicans to move past Trump once and for all. In a timely and politically astute narrative written before the midterm elections, Draper suggests that voters have grown tired of the “arc of the crazy”—a view borne out by the election results.
An important investigation into the radicalization of far-right American lawmakers.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 9780593300145
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Penguin Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.
“Quality of life means more than just consumption”: Two MIT economists urge that a smarter, more politically aware economics be brought to bear on social issues.
It’s no secret, write Banerjee and Duflo (co-authors: Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way To Fight Global Poverty, 2011), that “we seem to have fallen on hard times.” Immigration, trade, inequality, and taxation problems present themselves daily, and they seem to be intractable. Economics can be put to use in figuring out these big-issue questions. Data can be adduced, for example, to answer the question of whether immigration tends to suppress wages. The answer: “There is no evidence low-skilled migration to rich countries drives wage and employment down for the natives.” In fact, it opens up opportunities for those natives by freeing them to look for better work. The problem becomes thornier when it comes to the matter of free trade; as the authors observe, “left-behind people live in left-behind places,” which explains why regional poverty descended on Appalachia when so many manufacturing jobs left for China in the age of globalism, leaving behind not just left-behind people but also people ripe for exploitation by nationalist politicians. The authors add, interestingly, that the same thing occurred in parts of Germany, Spain, and Norway that fell victim to the “China shock.” In what they call a “slightly technical aside,” they build a case for addressing trade issues not with trade wars but with consumption taxes: “It makes no sense to ask agricultural workers to lose their jobs just so steelworkers can keep theirs, which is what tariffs accomplish.” Policymakers might want to consider such counsel, especially when it is coupled with the observation that free trade benefits workers in poor countries but punishes workers in rich ones.
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61039-950-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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