Reviews

Journalist Pierce delivers a rapier-sharp rant on how the America of "Franklin and Edison, Fulton and Ford" has devolved into America "the Uninformed," where citizens hostile to science are exchanging "fact for fiction, and faith for reason," and glutting themselves on "reality" TV and conspiracy theories. Pierce makes no apologies for his liberal bias, and some conservatives-notably evolution opponents and Rush Limbaugh-endure a good deal of bashing. Pierce writes that in the U.S., "Fact is merely what enough people believe, and truth lies only in how fervently they believe it." He supports his thesis with references to James Madison and other founding fathers, who may have foreseen and rued the emergence of "cranks" who would threaten the Enlightenment-based nation they were shaping. Although the book is not likely to win any converts from the right wing Pierce so energetically decries, it is an engaging catalogue of those unscientifically verified "truths" that enthrall and impassion millions of Americans. (June) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

"A raucous rant against the armies of the right. . . . Pierce is at his scathing, insightful best."
--"The Boston Globe"
"A lively and, dare I say, intelligent study of the ongoing assault on gray matter."
--Stephen Amidon, "The New York Observer"
"[A] witty and pointed indictment of our nation's disturbing ability to vilify smart people and elevate chowderheads to positions of power and influence."
--"The Salt Lake Tribune"
"For a good (if painful) laugh about creationism and other bits of American lunacy, try Charles Pierce's "Idiot America." It's a funny, sly version of an argument made recently by Al Gore in "The Assault on Reason," and by the brilliant Susan Jacoby in "The Age of American Unreason.""
--John A. Farrell, USNews.com
"There is only one Charles Pierce, and while that may be a good thing, it is also a damn good thing we have his unique combination of gonzo, erudition, fearlessness, and eloquence to help us make sense of a senseless world. I stand in awe, and appreciation."
--Eric Alterman, author "Why We're Liberals "and "When Presidents Lie"
"Pierce penetrates, and the world feels less idiotic already."
--Roy Blount Jr., author of "Alphabet Juice "and "Long Time Leaving"
"Charles Pierce takes us on a brilliant and hilarious tour of the back roads of American idiotocracy through history--skewering Atlantis-seekers, evolution deniers, jackasses, nincompoops, and right-wing know-it-alls with his trademark sledgehammer wit. Reading Pierce's "Idiot America," I laughed myself stupid."
--Amy Dickinson, author of "The Mighty Queens of Freeville"
"Engaging. . . . Pierce delivers a rapier-sharp rant on how the America of Franklin and Edison, Fulton and Ford has devolved into America the Uninformed."
--"Publishers Weekly"
"There's a guy down at the end of the bar who's furiously angry, hilariously funny, and has an Irish poet's talent for language. He's been traveling the co

Pierce (writer-at-large, Esquire) begins by relating his visit to the Creation Museum in Kentucky, during which he sees on display a dinosaur wearing a saddle. That outlandish sight leads him to consider other examples of irrationality taking the place of reason in America, as he examines talk radio, denials of global warming and evolution, the war in Iraq, Sarah Palin, the case of Terry Schiavo, etc. With droll prose and an appreciation for irony, Pierce skewers what he sees as America's lamentable embrace of idiocy, and he illustrates how it has thrown us perilously off balance. He contrasts the ubiquitous ignorance and gullibility of today's body politic with the thoughts of James Madison, who heralded common sense, knowledge, and experience as virtues. Verdict Pierce contends that the founding fathers (men of the Enlightenment) properly guaranteed a place in society for cranks to be able to champion eccentric ideas, but now any crank who can draw attention to himself using mass media is viewed as an expert while genuine authorities are not trusted. Intelligence is discounted and gut reactions hold sway, or, as Pierce maintains: "Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is measured by how fervently they believe it." Recommended.-Donna L. Davey, NYU Lib. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.