A 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 ...
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Oct 17, 2008
Xysea
rated it: 
Let me just say that Matt Taibbi kicks much ass, so when I say this next part don't shoot me. Whenever I see him on Bill Maher I think he swears too much. Yes, a contradiction but then I am full of contradictions.
Anyway, kudos to Matt for being an intrepid reporter. I wouldn't have wanted to participate in the church he did, to find out why people are so deranged. But he did and I and this book thank him for it.
Told with a great dose of humor, irony, satire and bewild More...
Anyway, kudos to Matt for being an intrepid reporter. I wouldn't have wanted to participate in the church he did, to find out why people are so deranged. But he did and I and this book thank him for it.
Told with a great dose of humor, irony, satire and bewild More...
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Apr 14, 2009
Jonathan
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Wow, what a scary, hilarious and depressing book this was! Veteran Rolling Stone political reporter Matt Taibbi visits two extreme sides of today's political "debate", a Christian Evangelist church in Texas and the wingnuts of the "Truth 9/11" squad, who maintain the whole Sept. 11 terrorist attack was really a government plot. A plot for what, no one seems quite clear, but a plot nonetheless.
His visit to the fire and brimstone evangelical mega-church in Texas is, More...
His visit to the fire and brimstone evangelical mega-church in Texas is, More...
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Jun 17, 2008
Dale
rated it:
The Great Derangement has the best tutorial I've seen on the actual workings of Congress. Chapter 2 describes in detail the processes of the Republican-controlled congress (prior to the 2006 elections), explaining in detail how bills are actually created and rammed through. Taibbi explains why it is that CSPAN2 is so mind-numbingly dull - an endless parade of house resolutions to name a post office or honor a dead chamber of commerce booster. The real work of the congress is done in the middle o
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May 29, 2008
joseph
rated it:
Taibbi's thesis: Americans no longer have shared facts or a shared pool of knowledge from which to draw conclusions about their world. The institutions that ostensibly should provide objective truth, the government and the media, do not do so. In this intellectual wilderness, Americans have created their own truths, their own narrative.
Taibbi compares two narratives that he sees as being predominant. On the right, there are evangelicals of the megachurch variety, lonely, damaged pe More...
Taibbi compares two narratives that he sees as being predominant. On the right, there are evangelicals of the megachurch variety, lonely, damaged pe More...
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Jul 08, 2008
Jack
rated it:
The comparisons to Hunter S. Thompson are widespread and inevitable. After all, Taibbi not only shows much of Thompsons's influence, he's a national political writer/editor for Rolling Stone.
But Taibbi also shows a voice of his own, updating that sense of moral outrage and energetic despair for the modern political climate. His discussions of where and how American government have gone wrong, and how it has left Americans on both sides of the political spectrum moving around in b More...
But Taibbi also shows a voice of his own, updating that sense of moral outrage and energetic despair for the modern political climate. His discussions of where and how American government have gone wrong, and how it has left Americans on both sides of the political spectrum moving around in b More...
Nov 24, 2008
Mike
rated it:
After having spent time as a participant-observer with extreme evangelical christians and hardcore believers in 911 as government conspiracy—more time with the former—reporter Matt Taibbi examines both as reactionary faiths: popular movements that lend meaning in a world rendered opaque by a derelict media that obfuscates the actions of the political class upon which it should be reporting. His encounters are with those who have been—pardon the pun—left behind by the prime movers of society. He
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Jan 24, 2012
Tim
rated it: 
I am late to reading this book - its moment is past. Still I enjoyed it. Taibbi writes with a vengeance, noting the loss of democracy to interests and the average Americans construction of narratives to give meaning to life. He looks at two such narratives - provided by Christian Zionist, pentecostal fundamentalist John Hagee's San Antonio church (where Taibbi immerses himself in the culture as a participant) and the 911 Truth Squad (for some fair and balancing with left wing nuts, who he fo
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Aug 01, 2011
Chris
rated it:
There is an essential flaw in human nature that makes us think we're special. It used to make us think that we were literally the center of the universe, which it turns out we aren't. It makes us think that we're all going to grow up to be movie stars and astronauts, which we aren't; our children are all brilliant and well-behaved, which they aren't; and that God is on our side, which It isn't.
Oddly enough, though, there is one place where this boundless optimism is flipped on its head More...
Oddly enough, though, there is one place where this boundless optimism is flipped on its head More...
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May 24, 2011
Schnaucl
rated it:
Generally speaking, I'm a big fan of Matt Taibbi's writing.
Having said that, I thought the introduction to the book was misleading. The introduction makes it sound like Congress, the military, 9/11 truthers and member's of Hagee's church will be given equal time when it's mostly about the church with the truthers and Congress getting a couple chapters each while the military only gets one. The introduction also makes it sound like the soldiers he was embedded with freaked out when t More...
Having said that, I thought the introduction to the book was misleading. The introduction makes it sound like Congress, the military, 9/11 truthers and member's of Hagee's church will be given equal time when it's mostly about the church with the truthers and Congress getting a couple chapters each while the military only gets one. The introduction also makes it sound like the soldiers he was embedded with freaked out when t More...
Mar 04, 2011
Patrick
rated it:
First, let me say, I love this guy. Humorous, intelligent, acerbic, gutsy, and a bunch of other adjectives I can’t think of right now. Whenever he appears on Bill Mahar I know it’s going to be interesting. He’s a man unafraid to swear.
In this book (he has a new one, I am about to read):
Tabbi spent time with Matthew Hagee's Cornerstone Church, slowly going through the indoctrination process. He also spent some time with a 9/11 conspiracy group, who believe the US governme More...
In this book (he has a new one, I am about to read):
Tabbi spent time with Matthew Hagee's Cornerstone Church, slowly going through the indoctrination process. He also spent some time with a 9/11 conspiracy group, who believe the US governme More...
Aug 02, 2010
John
rated it:
The case that Taibbi makes in this book is that our national politicians have, quite deliberately and in their own self-interest, corrupted the process of government to such an extent that, not only has it lost any characteristics of a representative democracy responsive to the needs of the people, it can -- more importantly in his and our context -- no longer be described using the tools of rationality. Small wonder, then, that the response of many of the effectively disenfranchised popul More...
Mar 14, 2010
Todd
rated it:
I have been a fan of Matt Taibbi's since I first encountered him on theexile.ru. Since his Lennon/McCartney-like break with Mark Ames he has been doing some fantastic reporting, notably his columns about the financial crisis for Rolling Stone.
In his books and articles, dumb people are either figures of fun to be mocked mercilessly or people to be pitied and sometimes held up as symptoms of what is wrong with America. And smart people have their words translated into "what they r More...
In his books and articles, dumb people are either figures of fun to be mocked mercilessly or people to be pitied and sometimes held up as symptoms of what is wrong with America. And smart people have their words translated into "what they r More...
Sep 02, 2009
David
rated it:
The basic premise of The Great Derangement is that as Americans, we have no real leadership. We are so used to being lied to and screwed over that in essence, we are forced to create our own reality to deal with it. Matt Taibbi hilariously explores this world of derangement.
After he explains just how mind-numbingly pointless most sessions of Congress are--one bill “debated” is over whether or not to name a post office after Ava Gardner--he gets into how the Government is really run. The More...
After he explains just how mind-numbingly pointless most sessions of Congress are--one bill “debated” is over whether or not to name a post office after Ava Gardner--he gets into how the Government is really run. The More...
Mar 03, 2011
Rob
rated it:
This is my second Matt Taibbi book and I was as entertained as I was with Griftopia. He takes both the religious right/fundamentalists in Texas to task by going undercover and reporting what happens at all weekend seminars and what's preached in the church. At the same time he goes back and forth to DC and NY, sitting in the congressional press pit, and getting into arguments with 9-11 Truthers, whom he enraged with a throw away ad hominem line in one of his pieces for Rolling Stone. As disturbi
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Jan 15, 2009
Daniel
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First of all, this book is wickedly funny. The heaping helpings of liberal derision that Taibbi spreads around like so much hateful cream cheese on the bagel of Americana while tasty to ingest ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth. While I share many of his worldviews especially regarding the 911 Truthers and the failures of our legislative branch of government, I have a hard time watching him do a hatchet job on individual people who naively allowed him entry into their worlds, however flawed
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Apr 24, 2009
Marc
rated it:
Taibbi enters interesting journalistic territory exploring the inner mechanisms of the 9/11 Truth Movement, Congress, and a southern Evangelical church. While the anecdotes of extremism prove fertile fodder for a cynic like Taibbi and provide for some humorous and mind boggling moments, the author seems to stretch too far in trying to tie these subcultures together to form a single theory: Extremism in America is the direct reaction of a disenfranchised public to an ineffective and corrupt More...
Jan 24, 2012
Matt Taibi is the most insightful and humorous political commentator alive today. This book totally nails the state of American politics and the common psychological/sociological origins of both left & right.
The ultimately depressing reality of American politics is that system is hopelessly broken; his humor ultimately helps soften the blow of this reality. Whether you're left or right Matt Taibi's writing is going to be hard to face, but if you can take a step back and let you More...
The ultimately depressing reality of American politics is that system is hopelessly broken; his humor ultimately helps soften the blow of this reality. Whether you're left or right Matt Taibi's writing is going to be hard to face, but if you can take a step back and let you More...
Jul 13, 2009
Briana
rated it: 
I'm a big fan of Matt Taibbi's from some of his Rolling Stone coverage during the election (especially his piece about deranged Hillary supporters) and I think I would have rather read a collection of those pieces instead. The coverage of Congress was interesting (if depressing) but the main topics of the book, Christian fundamentalists obsessed with the End Times and 9-11 Truthers, covered ground I've read about before. I thought that Rapture Ready by Daniel Radosh did a better, and more sympa
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Aug 04, 2011
Hankrose
rated it:
I enjoyed it, it makes me want to read more stuff by Taibbi. He does a good job explaining what people should clearly be mad about while maintaining a sense of humor. A very thorough explanation of how congress works, a fact check with 9/11 truthers, and a first hand experience with John Hagee's Cornerstone Church. I will admit there is a chance that Congress is for the people, John Hagee knows the truth, and/or the Truthers know the truth; Taibbi's voice sounds less crooked than all of the
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Feb 06, 2011
Ed
rated it:
A glowing appeal for sanity in a country driven mad by ineffective, corrupt and downright criminal government. Taibbi spends time with extremists from both the Left (911 Truth Movement activists) and Right (Pastor John Hagee's Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, TX) to get a bead on what has driven them to their respective extremes.
Taibbi, with his biting no-bullshit observations honed on his beat as Rolling Stone magazine's main "National Affairs" correspondent, exposes More...
Dec 08, 2010
Tim
rated it:
Wow. A VERY candid look at our political process, Evangelical Christianity and fringe groups like the 9/11 Truthers through the eyes of Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi.
This volume is definitely NSFC (not safe for Church) as it is riddled with profanity and also ridicules the John Hagee ministry and how "conversions" happen. Taibbi goes undercover in the Church and experiences what happens when a new convert joins the Church. While Hagee's ministry is not entirely represe More...
This volume is definitely NSFC (not safe for Church) as it is riddled with profanity and also ridicules the John Hagee ministry and how "conversions" happen. Taibbi goes undercover in the Church and experiences what happens when a new convert joins the Church. While Hagee's ministry is not entirely represe More...
Sep 08, 2009
John
rated it:
This is a fascinating book. Taibbi looks at different aspects of our culture and concludes that America has lost its faith in our political parties and the media that supports them so loudly. This loss of faith has resulted in those in the right to move toward Christian fanaticism, and those on the left to bizarre conspiracy theories about the government's involvement in 9/11.
He recognizes the rightness in abandoning the political and media buffoonery. But the antidotes are as bad More...
He recognizes the rightness in abandoning the political and media buffoonery. But the antidotes are as bad More...
Aug 18, 2011
Valerie
rated it:
Taibbi, a writer for Rolling Stone, draws on two major manifestations of the "great derangement" in the U.S.: on the right, the Christian End-Times movement, and on the left, the 9/11 "Truthers." He writes: "...Screwed by a corrupt ruling class, the Population at Large rebelled by ramming itself into twin brick walls of idiocy. It was hard to say what was more absurd, the preposterous corruption of our politicians or the utterly irrational response of the people they b
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Aug 11, 2009
Jeff
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If it weren't so grim, Taibbi's book would be perfect. I went in expecting a thorough shredding of the modern dominionist movement, and while there are certainly some damning passages, the book's emphasis is more nuanced. Taibbi studies three worlds in turn: the deep-texas congregation of political firebrand/megachurch preacher John Haggee, the unhinged world of Bush-hating 9/11 Truthers, and the cynical swamp of day-to-day Congressional governance.
Taibbi's premise is that as Democra More...
Taibbi's premise is that as Democra More...
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Jan 16, 2010
John
rated it:
Engrossing. Taibbi's purpose is to examine the mentality of those who, through their participation in certain social movements, become unable to see American political reality clearly. He does this quite entertainingly by recounting 1) his undercover identity as a new member of an evangelical church in Texas; 2) his encounters with leaders of the 9/11 truth movement; 3) his observations working as a member of the press covering Congress. For the latter, he observes that power in Congress is in t
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Jan 04, 2012
Jon
rated it:
Ok, so now I have a small crush on Matt Taibbi.
This book was hilarious. I suppose I had heard of Taibbi before--I'm a bit of a political junkie--but this is his first book I've read. He conveyed a great voice, with sarcasm (and scorn) but also sympathy (and pathos) for those who might at first blush seem the least deserving of either.
The book is a bit too anecdotal, it might have been nice to have a more chronological account of his adventures (I wouldn't have minded spendi More...
This book was hilarious. I suppose I had heard of Taibbi before--I'm a bit of a political junkie--but this is his first book I've read. He conveyed a great voice, with sarcasm (and scorn) but also sympathy (and pathos) for those who might at first blush seem the least deserving of either.
The book is a bit too anecdotal, it might have been nice to have a more chronological account of his adventures (I wouldn't have minded spendi More...
Dec 06, 2010
Valentina
rated it:
Although a couple of years old, this is a rather illuminating, and obviously hilarious, take on the insanity which seems to have engulfed a great chunk of American politics. Taibbi decides to confront the delusional extremes on both sides of the aisle, although he is at his inquisitive best in his quest to unravel, as an undercover reporter, the secrets of the evangelical Christian industrial complex built in Texas by fundamentalist pastor, and commercial sensation, John Hagee.
How the More...
How the More...
May 13, 2009
Tim
rated it:
I'm fed up. I'm tired of politics and politicians and revolted by how they elevate self-interest over public interest. It can be therapeutic to see you're not alone. And Matt Taibbi's The Great Derangement, also indicates there's a lot of people out there who feel the same way. It's just that the disaffection manifests itself in different, at times somewhat deranged, ways. [return][return]Often scathing, frequently humorous and usually insightful, Taibbi sees Americans as becoming deranged
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Feb 08, 2009
Randy
rated it:
I'm a fan of Taibbi's writing, and there's a lot to like about this book. Taibbi gives a pretty insightful look into the world of people who I honestly don't understand at all, the 9/11 Truthers on the far left and the Evangelicals on the far right, with a stop off in the middle to point out how hopelessly corrupt and f*cked our political system is.
It's a depressing book, but also a funny one. And there's something comforting about the full-blown, detached from reality insanity of th More...
It's a depressing book, but also a funny one. And there's something comforting about the full-blown, detached from reality insanity of th More...
