This is an impressive book. It’s flawed – many chapters could be significantly reduced without damaging the message, the message is often lost amidst rambling anecdotes – but by golly, this is a man who knows how to research. Facts, quotes, conclusions – it’s all here. Kurt Andersen is a journalist by trade, and the quality shows: the writing flows, the arguments are there, though bloated in places, but I’d rather have a skimmable well written book like this than something inferior.
The book starts with the Founding Fathers, skims through the Wild West, and ends with the 45th President of the USA (by both chronology and ranking). With the verbosity, I did feel the thread was often lost but given the history lessons were still interesting, that’s not at all a bad thing. The conclusion was that unkempt religion, unlike the European churches which are reigned in by the controlling powers, allowed people to express themselves uniquely, accepting their own truths and realities.
A fantastic book, highly enlightening for both those within Fantasyland and those who are out.
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
See review on Goodreads.