Cover Image: American Psychosis

American Psychosis

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Member Reviews

Before the last administration, I considered myself a fairly well-educated conservative. I was shocked at some of the things that happened and that continue to happen in the Republican party. This book is very well-documented proof that, if I had been paying attention, I wouldn't have been so surprised. I do think it could have been written in a more interesting way because it comes across as a list of events rather than a cohesive story.
Of course it's biased and it leaves things out, but most of the information is accurate and relevant. I dread to see what will happen next.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read a print copy -- I had a technical issue and ended up finishing with the audiobook, which I thought was well done.

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American psychosis by David Korn is one of the most interesting fact based books about the Republican Party I have read in a long time. He starts from the beginning of the party and he even discusses the base of its fear tactics which roots go back to the witch hunt he discusses Taft and all his embarrassing glory Eisenhower and his shady sneak into a nomination in 1952 , The Republican Christian poster boy Falwell and his disgusting disgraceful and disrespectful comments he made the day after 911 On a Favorite show of conservative Republicans the pat Robinson show, with a lot more fact based stories in between and ends with The Donald Trump presidency. After reading this book you either wonder if it is really the Republicans who are suffering from psychosis those who vote for them or those who allow it to happen. I still believe it is those who read the headlines and not the articles that keep voting in these buffoons because once a person does the do diligence and doesn’t just swallow everything handed to them by the media you really get a different picture of the politicians that claim they’re going to solve our problems. This is a great book and one I highly recommend and should be a part of anyone’s due diligence when trying to decide which way to vote. I want to think 12 and net galley for my free arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

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As with any political book, I think it's far to provide some disclosure about your own bias when leaving a review. I have always been on the left side of the United States political spectrum. However, after the Trump years, I've been interested in unpacking how the opposing party has evolved into its current state. Corn has written a well researched account of the Republican party and it's evolution throughout the the last century or so. I learned so much about the inner conflicts of the Republican party in the past and how some of the behaviors we're seeing today aren't new, they're just being shown to new brazen degrees.

As a fellow liberal, I do think Corn dips into his own bias a bit in some of the passages in 'American Psychosis' but does a decent enough job of only judging a person's actions versus judging their political opinions.

On that note, I'd love to see a book from Corn on the way the Democrats have mishandled opportunities for progress over the years and the general lackluster performance of the party.

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This type of book really hits the sweet spot. While there is a liberal mindset that could use some radicalization, when documenting the far right movement, a liberal mindset can sometimes still get the job done,

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Reversing Roe v. Wade, book banning in schools (and attempts in public libraries as well), dialing back legislation and rights for queer folks. This takeover by right-wing arm of the GOP might seem sudden, or like it’s been building for a decade or two, but it goes back further than that. Way further, in fact, and this book tracks how QAnon is just a new name for an old faction and how all of this has been building for decades.

If you’re bummed out about all the stuff that’s going on (and been going on), this book isn’t going to make you feel any better. However, it is a wild ride of complete psychopaths that provides historical (and current) context of how we got here. I yelled at it several times, and shook my head in bewilderment constantly. Information literacy is so damn important.This one’s out now wherever you get your books if you wanna be simultaneously informed and depressed.

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Well written and thoroughly researched, this book does a good job of highlighting what went wrong with American politics. I don't think it was much different from The Destructionists, so probably reading one or the other would be sufficient. But David Corn is certainly an expert on the topic.

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More of the same. Well written but basically says the same thing as any political book these days. One side is wrong the other side is crazy, it doesn’t advance thought provoking questions.

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I believe that one should always read books that are written by the other side so that you may understand their thinking. David Corn is very far left and writes for Mother Jones Magazine, which only confirms this assessment. Being a denizen of the right, I found, as I expected, that I agreed with almost nothing Mr. Corn wrote, but I feel you should read it anyway.

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** Excerpt taken from Tea Time With a Good Book an article written for the Collinwood Chronicle and published in the November 2022 newspaper for residents in Cleveland, OH...available in multiple publications in Northeastern OH and online.
(one of three books in review for the month)

Lastly, I have got to recommend my favorite of the many new reads, American Psychosis by David Corn. Because of the detailed research, immense effort and time spent putting this well formed "historical investigation of how the Republican party went crazy" (direct statement from the front cover), along with superb writing skills of Corn, it is a must read for every sane person this upcoming year! Corn explains what we as Americans have witnessed in the political arena for the last several years, and, many, hung our heads in shame about, began long before Trump was elected. It's about the circus of absurdity in the Republican Party then and now, also a terrific breath of relief to discover why this happened to our country and hopefully, a lesson for the future. God bless this man for answering my plea!

(not in review, only on goodreads)
And, I apologize for the short review but, in print media, I only have so much room and I had three good reads I wanted to share for the month. This book, however, put to rest the questions I had about what has gone so wrong in our country. While I had believed it all began when Trump took his seat as our most uncouth president ever, as I thought more about things, I saw the Republican's party (at least, part of it) and their down slide, in promoting people like Sarah Palin for president. The de-evolution of the party, (in a human sense, in a sane sense) is evident for much longer than this generation.

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