The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American EmpireA REVELATORY AND DARKLY COMIC ADVENTURE THROUGH A NATION ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN—FROM THE HALLS OF CONGRESS TO THE BASES OF BAGHDAD TO THE APOCALYPTIC CHURCHES OF THE HEARTLAND Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi set out to describe the nature of George Bush’s America in the post-9/11 era and ended up vomiting demons in an evangelical church in Texas, riding the streets of Baghdad in an American convoy to nowhere, searching for phantom fighter jets in Congress, and falling into the rabbit hole of the 9/11 Truth Movement. Matt discovered in his travels across the country that the resilient blue state/red state narrative of American politics had become irrelevant. A large and growing chunk of the American population was so turned off—or radicalized—by electoral chicanery, a spineless news media, and the increasingly blatant lies from our leaders (“they hate us for our freedom”) that they abandoned the political mainstream altogether. They joined what he calls The Great Derangement. Taibbi tells the story of this new American madness by inserting himself into four defining American subcultures: The Military, where he finds himself mired in the grotesque black comedy of the American occupation of Iraq; The System, where he follows the money-slicked path of legislation in Congress; The Resistance, where he doubles as chief public antagonist and undercover member of the passionately bonkers 9/11 Truth Movement; and The Church, where he infiltrates a politically influential apocalyptic mega-ministry in Texas and enters the lives of its desperate congregants. Together these four interwoven adventures paint a portrait of a nation dangerously out of touch with reality and desperately searching for answers in all the wrong places. Funny, smart, and a little bit heartbreaking, The Great Derangement is an audaciously reported, sobering, and illuminating portrait of America at the end of the Bush era. |
Contents
1 | |
ONE Born Again | 13 |
TWO Congressional Interlude I or Inside the Halls | 24 |
THREE The Longest Three Days of My Life | 53 |
FOUR Baghdad Interlude or The Derangement at War | 88 |
FIVE Discover the Difference | 98 |
SIX Congressional Interlude II or Democrats Seize | 111 |
SEVEN Bible Study | 132 |
NINE Peak Experience | 167 |
TEN Conspiracy Interlude II or The Derangement | 185 |
ELEVEN Practice Practice Practice | 205 |
TWELVE Conspiracy Interlude III or The Derangement | 226 |
THIRTEEN The End | 249 |
Epilogue | 256 |
Acknowledgments | 271 |
EIGHT Conspiracy Interlude I or 911 and | 148 |
Other editions - View all
The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion Matt Taibbi Limited preview - 2009 |
The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion Matt Taibbi No preview available - 2009 |
The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion Matt Taibbi No preview available - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
9/11 Truth Movement actually American anyway asked attack Ava Gardner Barack Obama Barton Biederman bill budget building bullshit Bush called Cassie CHENEY Christ Christian Christian Zionism church Cindy Sheehan coach Congress congressional conspiracy crowd Democrats demons Dick Cheney earmarks election eyes feel FEITH Fortenberry fuck going hand hate head hear Hell House Hurricane Katrina Iraq Iraq war Janine Jesus kids kind KRISTOL later laughed Laurie leaders looked Lord Mad Lib mainstream Matt Matt Taibbi mean meeting million minutes Miriam Mitt Romney nodded Okay pastor Pentagon plane political pray problem refineries Republican Rolling Stone Romney Ron Paul Rules Committee seat seemed Senate shit shouted smiled someone started story stuff sure talking tell Texas there's thing thought told Tom DeLay Truthers trying turned vote Washington whispered WOLFOWITZ Yeah