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Fantasyland : How America Went Haywire: a 500-Year History by Kurt Andersen (2017, Hardcover)

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The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "The single most important explanation, and the fullest explanation, of how Donald Trump became president of the United States . . . nothing less than the most important book that I have read this year."--Lawrence O'Donnell How did we get here? In this sweeping, eloquent history of America, Kurt Andersen shows that what's happening in our country today--this post-factual, "fake news" moment we're all living through--is not something new, but rather the ultimate expression of our national character. America was founded by wishful dreamers, magical thinkers, and true believers, by hucksters and their suckers. Fantasy is deeply embedded in our DNA. Over the course of five centuries--from the Salem witch trials to Scientology to the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, from P. T. Barnum to Hollywood and the anything-goes, wild-and-crazy sixties, from conspiracy theories to our fetish for guns and obsession with extraterrestrials--our love of the fantastic has made America exceptional in a way that we've never fully acknowledged. From the start, our ultra-individualism was attached to epic dreams and epic fantasies--every citizen was free to believe absolutely anything, or to pretend to be absolutely anybody. With the gleeful erudition and tell-it-like-it-is ferocity of a Christopher Hitchens, Andersen explores whether the great American experiment in liberty has gone off the rails. Fantasyland could not appear at a more perfect moment. If you want to understand Donald Trump and the culture of twenty-first-century America, if you want to know how the lines between reality and illusion have become dangerously blurred, you must read this book. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE "This is a blockbuster of a book. Take a deep breath and dive in." --Tom Brokaw " An] absorbing, must-read polemic . . . a provocative new study of America's cultural history." -- Newsday "Compelling and totally unnerving." -- The Village Voice "A frighteningly convincing and sometimes uproarious picture of a country in steep, perhaps terminal decline that would have the founding fathers weeping into their beards." -- The Guardian "This is an important book--the indispensable book--for understanding America in the age of Trump." --Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
ISBN-10
1400067219
ISBN-13
9781400067213
eBay Product ID (ePID)
78360646

Product Key Features

Book Title
Fantasyland : How America Went Haywire: a 500-Year History
Author
Kurt Andersen
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Topic
Social History, Popular Culture, Commentary & Opinion, United States / General
Publication Year
2017
Genre
History, Social Science, Political Science
Number of Pages
480 Pages

Dimensions

Item Length
9.5 in
Item Height
1.4 in
Item Width
6.4 in
Item Weight
26.1 Oz

Additional Product Features

Lc Classification Number
E169.1.A543 2017
Reviews
"This is an important book--the indispensable book--for understanding America in the age of Trump. It's an eye-opening history filled with brilliant insights, a saga of how we were always susceptible to fantasy, from the Puritan fanatics to the talk-radio and Internet wackos who mix show business, hucksterism, and conspiracy theories. Even the parts you think you know already are put into an eye-opening context." --Walter Isaacson "Kurt Andersen is America's voice of reason. What is he--Canadian? The people who should read this book won't--because it's a book--but reality-based citizens will still get a kick out of this winning romp through centuries of American delusion." --Sarah Vowell " Fantasyland presents the very best kind of idea--one that, in retrospect, seems obvious, but that took a seer like Kurt Andersen to piece together. The thinking and the writing are both dazzling; it is at once a history lesson and an oh-so-modern cri de coeur; it's an absolute joy to read and will leave your brain dancing with excitement long after you're done." --Stephen Dubner
Copyright Date
2017
Target Audience
Trade
Lccn
2017-016052
Dewey Decimal
973
Dewey Edition
23

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4.7 out of 5 stars based on 17 product ratings

17 product ratings

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4 out of 5 stars
by a8pKfK10Ski@Del...Sep 13, 2017
Entertaining but not wholly accurate
Kurt Andersen's thesis is that American exceptionalism is rooted in gullibility. He traces the origins of this trait back some 500 years to the Virginia "gold rush" which produced no gold and the search for a non-existent northwest passage waterway to Asia. Subsequently, wave after wave of immigrants arrived on American shores in search of instant wealth or a pathway to paradise. Andersen suggests that the descendants of those dreamers are therefore genetically predisposed to chase fantasies. Andersen is especially hard on Protestants, so if you are one, I would suggest not reading this book. It's true that religious revivalism and fanaticism are more prevalent in modern America than in present-day European countries. Nevertheless, reviewing European history, we will find the Eighty Years War, fueled in part by sectarian differences, and the decades-long religious strife in Northern Ireland. The Civil War notwithstanding, at least it can be said that America has managed to avoid similar conflagrations caused by religion. My own Anabaptist ancestors came to what would later become the United States in the late 1600s to avoid being burned at the stake for heresy by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. So there is plenty of blame to go around on both sides of the Atlantic when it comes to crimes committed in the name of religion. Having said everything above, I would have to agree that Americans do tend to be more prone than citizens of other advanced countries to being swayed by the power of suggestion through advertising. But this may be true simply because of the sheer pervasiveness of advertising in everyday American life, especially in radio and television, which were historically financed 100% through advertising instead of through public funding as in other countries. Thus, it was in the United States where advertising was elevated to a science (refer to the classic book "Hidden Persuaders" for details). Truth be told, advertising WORKS. If there is one American trait that is the hallmark of Fantasyland, I'd say it's narcissism. Many Americans tend to think of themselves as "rugged individuals" who can survive, nay prosper, very nicely thank you without any help from anyone, especially the government, whom they see as the problem and not the solution. Of course this is a delusion, which quickly vanishes when these people get old and sick, or when a natural disaster like a flood or a hurricane disrupts their otherwise trouble-free lives. But as long as that delusion persists, people who are infected by it believe they can solve any and all problems they may encounter by their own efforts alone or through the power of prayer or positive thinking. I have a number of friends who are absolutely convinced they can alter the probabilities of winning money from slot machines and materialize parking spaces through the power of their own minds (refer to the book "The Secret"). To me, believing in having supernatural powers such as these is the very epitome of narcissism, which produces all sorts of fantasies.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
5 out of 5 stars
by frenchsicOct 31, 2017
NOT an "alternative fact"
Andersen has NAILED THE STATE OF AMERICA TODAY. I'm 73 and remember the psychoses of molested children, and the horrible things it did to innocent people - jailed due to nonsensical "authorities" and how hysteria took over our legal system, only to be reversed years later after destroying the lives of so many people. Kurt has verified my KNOWLEDGE, not BELIEF, that way too many adults do NOT THINK anymore - DO NOT do any sort of research or questioning of what they hear around them. I grew up learning about the world by playing in it, learning how the world works at the grassroots level - meaning digging in the ground playing in the fields, SEEING how things work and taking things apart and using my BRAIN in a REALITY-FOCUSED way. My father would tell me when i did something incorrectly/wrong, he would admonish me to THINK - not react - but THINK before I did things that went wrong. I grew up oriented toward the physical world thru my play, then studied physics in college, which verified for me the rules of the universe - PHYSICAL rules which determine what happens to me physically, such as getting HURT when I did stupid, dangerous things. I learned CONSEQUENCES of my own behavior, that were not caused by other people's opinions or behavior. ANOTHER VERIFICATION I had of how the real world works, meaning how other people thought and worked, was growing up as a Presbyterian - but not a real believer in it - just family circumstances - in UTAH, a thorougly MORMON environment, where i learrned PREJUDICE firsthand. I and noon-Mormon friends were ignored, excluded, and proselytized endlessly by "friends" who believed the nonsensical Mormon "cleaned-up" history of their "church", and believed without analyzing or thinking critically about what they were fed by the "church". I learned the FACT that ALL religions are theatres full of scapegoats/excuses for everything bad/good that happens to anyone who participates in their ceremonies without THINKING and REASONING. I learned how amazing it is what people will believe if they run into a situation where they don't have enough information to come to a rational conclusion about what has or is happening. They will believe what others BELIEVE, but don't analyze what they profess to believe via reasoningRead full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
5 out of 5 stars
by bingobop21Sep 13, 2018
Fantastic, eye-opening book!!
Gift for my son. He said it's a great book,everyone should read it. A lot of work went into this book and author did a fantastic job. Highly recommend.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
5 out of 5 stars
by 19woodworker46Aug 03, 2021
A must stimulating read.
You might not agree with all that's in this book, but a must read for those that want to have a look at how we got where we are. Well written by an intelligent author.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
5 out of 5 stars
by d7greenAug 10, 2021
A new insight into American History
Andersen tells it like it is without whitewashing the craziness that compels someone to pull up stakes and travel to a new land based on dreams of implementing their vision of what society should be, often based on radical religious ideas, or just seeking their fortune based on rumors and gossip. The writing is entertaining as much as it is informative, but if you've inherited any of those new religions invented in America, you might need a thick skin as Andersen calls out all the foolishness not sparing the religious.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New

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Picture 1 of 1

Fantasyland : How America Went Haywire: a 500-Year History by Kurt Andersen (2017, Hardcover)

About this product

Product Information

Product Identifiers

Product Key Features

Dimensions

Additional Product Features

All listings for this product

Ratings and Reviews

Most relevant reviews

Entertaining but not wholly accurate

NOT an "alternative fact"

Fantastic, eye-opening book!!

A must stimulating read.

A new insight into American History

Best Selling in Books

Save on Books

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