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Religious Book Store > Religious books beginning with G
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The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire |
Author: Matt Taibbi
Published: 2008-05-06 |
List price: $24.00
Our price: $16.32
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As of: December 04th, 2008 01:19:02 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Useful & Informative, but...
'The Great Derangement' is something of a mongrel. As a writer for Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi covers a wide variety of subjects. At times 'Derangement' felt as if Mr. Taibbi had stacks of notes on three different subjects, each set too large for an article but too short for a book on its own, and his solution was to combine them all in one book and claim that the combination was in an effort to compare and contrast. At that he is only marginally successful.
Where 'Derangement' is more successful is in actually reporting from inside of each of the three 'worlds' he covers.
The infiltration of Pastor Hagee's megachurch in Texas is where Mr. Taibbi shines most. Although my personal religious leanings are very similar to the author's, I grew up in the church (if a much more 'main line' denomination) and I recognize the individuals that populate Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. He manages to differentiate between the zealots running the show, the crackpot 'yes-men' that form the middle management, and the actual believers in the pews who, while overly credulous, are really just looking for some answers, stability, and a sense of belonging in their life.
While Mr. Taibbi puts forward a more sympathetic portrait of megachurch parishioners, he has no problem allowing Hagee and his ilk to damn themselves. 'Derangement' is a record of Hagee's willingness to lie to his congregation to further his political ends and ingratiate himself with his Washington benefactors.
'The Great Derangement' attempts to provide 'balance' to his critique of Evangelicalism by comparing it to the '9/11 Truth' movement, something that Mr. Taibbi characterizes as 'left-wing' though I find that claim a bit dubious.
I accept that each one is based on a similar sort of fact-free, take it on faith, 'I-want-to-believe' sort of movement. That said, the Truthers don't have a major political party beholden to them or hundreds if not thousands of adherents positioned within elected and non-elected government. People who think that the World Trade Center was dynamited may try to convince us to adopt their point of view but they're not trying to pass laws and/or change laws so that conform with their ideology. Also, Tiabbi fails to make any real connection between the 'Truthers' and any tenet of Liberalism. Conspiracy theories, and this one in particular, have very little to do with political ideologies.
The final set of notes that Mr. Taibbi used to fill out 'The Great Derangement' was on the combination of corruption and gridlock in Congress. While the Truthers come off as goofy and the Hageeites come off as unsettling, Mr. Taibbi's inside look at how ear marks work is just crushingly disheartening. The amount of disfunction is staggering. One is left wondering how anything ever gets done.
In the end, Mr. Taibbi's strongest point, one that I don't remember him stating directly, is that in today's America, a person can choose from a buffet of ideas and ideologies and there will always be somebody willing to spout reality optional 'facts' that support that position.
 Not his best, but Taibbi is always enjoyable
Matt Taibbi is in my opinion the most interesting political writer working today. He is a writer's writer, clearly in love with the language (in a very approachable way, don't worry) and quite gifted at turning a phrase. I regularly find myself stopping and rereading paragraphs in his books that seem to perfectly capture the essence of what makes American politics so annoying, yet fascinating. I frankly expected him to be more left-leaning, but he is refreshingly equal-opportunity in his skewering.
All that said, I found the central premise of "The Great Derangement" to be a little flimsy. Basically, religious nut-jobs (as supposed examples of the extreme Right) and 9/11 conspiracy nut-jobs (as supposed examples of the extreme Left) are...wait for it...both equally nutty. Taibbi's strong writing and total immersion in his subject matter still manage to make this somewhat underwhelming thesis interesting, but in the end it felt like he was trying too hard to wrap it all up in a neat theme rather than just letting the writing do its work.
Worth a read, but I'd suggest his "Spanking the Donkey" as much more satisfying and spot-on in its observations (if you skip some of the silly fantasy sequences).
 TYPICAL LIBERAL RANTING!!
Tabbi simply rehashes the liberal line of the past fifty years that consists of presenting middle America as idiots who do not understand the real world and therefore needs liberal thinking individuals, like him, to lead the way to salvation.
Perhaps, twenty-five years from now, he will have something interesting to say but it is doubtful since most liberals become mean spirited as their view of the world never gains the support of the majority.
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, Taibbi suspects, part of the con has been to get them to blame and hate each other.
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.
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