Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the FreeNATIONAL BESTSELLER The three Great Premises of Idiot America: · Any theory is valid if it sells books, soaks up ratings, or otherwise moves units · Anything can be true if someone says it loudly enough · Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it With his trademark wit and insight, veteran journalist Charles Pierce delivers a gut-wrenching, side-splitting lament about the glorification of ignorance in the United States. Pierce asks how a country founded on intellectual curiosity has somehow deteriorated into a nation of simpletons more apt to vote for an American Idol contestant than a presidential candidate. But his thunderous denunciation is also a secret call to action, as he hopes that somehow, being intelligent will stop being a stigma, and that pinheads will once again be pitied, not celebrated. Erudite and razor-sharp, Idiot America is at once an invigorating history lesson, a cutting cultural critique, and a bullish appeal to our smarter selves. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION Dinosaurs with Saddles August 2005 | 1 |
CHAPTER ONE The Prince of Cranks | 13 |
CHAPTER TWO The War on Expertise | 27 |
CHAPTER THREE Beyond Atlantis | 52 |
CHAPTER FOUR The Templars in Town | 60 |
CHAPTER fivE Radio Nowhere | 95 |
CHAPTER SIx God and Judge Jones | 128 |
CHAPTER SEvEN A Woman Dies on Beech Street | 165 |
CHAPTER EIGHT How We Look at the Sea | 194 |
CHAPTER NINE The Principles of Automatic Pilot | 219 |
CHAPTER TEN Torture in New Hampshire | 257 |
CHAPTER ELEVEN Mr Madisons Library | 278 |
Afterword to the Vintage Books Edition | 287 |
Acknowledgments | 301 |
Other editions - View all
Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free Charles Pierce Limited preview - 2009 |
Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free Charles Pierce No preview available - 2010 |
Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free Charles Pierce No preview available - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
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