false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256164265m/6017788.jpg 6017788 2 <p>In the midst of a career-long quest to separate the smart from the pap, Charles Pierce had a defining moment at the Creation Museum in Kentucky, where he observed a dinosaur. Wearing a saddle.... But worse than this was when the proprietor exclaimed to a cheering crowd, “We are taking the dinosaurs back from the evolutionists!” He knew then and there it was time to try and salvage the Land of the Enlightened, buried somewhere in this new Home of the Uninformed. <br><br>With his razor-sharp wit and erudite reasoning, Pierce delivers a gut-wrenching, side-splitting lament about the glorification of ignorance in the United States, and how a country founded on intellectual curiosity has somehow deteriorated into a nation of simpletons more apt to vote for an <i>American Idol</i> contestant than a presidential candidate. <br><br>With <i>Idiot America</i>, Pierce's 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.</p> 6193147 2 6 2009 Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free total:145|5:23|4:51|3:50|2:14|1:7| 145 504 456 57 3 1 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 10:13:10 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 11:20:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Mon Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 14:49:49 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 12:50:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Oct 03 16:01:51 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 16:14:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Sep 23 18:04:42 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 18:28:19 -0700 2009
Pierce shows how the cranks used to dwell on the fringes and were entertaining and...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jul 26 19:43:52 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 19:59:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 11:47:49 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 11:59:10 -0700 2009 wrong with you?!", this may be the book for you. Pierce gives a more reflective and erudite version of that, but leaves the vitriol intact.

Pierce's basic thesis is that cranks are all well ...more...]]> 3 2 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 11:31:40 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 11:33:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 3 false false Tue May 12 07:41:52 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 07:52:54 -0700 2009
Idiot America, new and expanded
Category: Books • Creationism • Kooks • Politics • Religion
Posted o...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 15:39:45 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 12 20:38:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jul 09 12:49:12 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 13:02:35 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 09 12:49:12 -0700 2009
The author does make some good points, particularly how our idea of national debate has devolved into national argument. He a...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jul 31 20:36:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 31 20:58:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Oct 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 10:17:03 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 02 06:25:25 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 09:17:07 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 09:27:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jun 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 07 19:39:27 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 18:49:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 14:14:19 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 14:22:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jun 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 09:56:19 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 10:03:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 26 06:29:48 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 09:54:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 13:27:15 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 13:32:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 1 false false Mon Jul 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 22:06:59 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 21:01:23 -0700 2009
I remember Pierce's original Esquire essay as an entertaining and smart riff on absurdities such as creati...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 09:01:14 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 09:07:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6017788