'Fantasyland' by Kurt Andersen

Fantasyland, Kurt Andersen (2.0)

My low scoring review for this book comes with a caveat: I know many people have and will enjoy reading it. The premise was fascinating – a discussion of how we got to the current state of fake news, science denying, etc. by reviewing the history of the US as far back as the Salem witch trials. Unfortunately, my expectation for a non-fiction book filled with statistics is that the data is backed up with sources. There were many footnotes, but they were additional rants, not cited references. This was particularly troublesome when I got to a fact that was doubtful or wrong, all succeeding facts were cast in that light. Also, while I agreed with much of Mr. Anderson’s assertions, the childish words he used in his disrespect for virtually everyone who did not agree with him was distracting and too informal for a serious book. If you are aghast at much of what is going on in our politics and news with regards to facts and need a cathartic read to validate those feelings – this book will be enjoyable. Ironically, just don’t expect actual fact checking for those facts in the book.