The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War [Hardcover]

A National Book Critics Circle Finalist for Nonfiction A riveting, vividly detailed collage of political and moral derangement in America, one that horrifyingly corresponds to liberals worst fears. One of my favorite nonfiction writers anywhere, just an incredible writer, and an incredible reporter. I deeply appreciate Sharlets mythic-religious approach, and how it enables him to capture what other journalists miss. Data can only tell half the story, and usually the half thats less interesting. Add to that the books welcome ambition, both as journalism and literature. This is no mere compilation of bullet points. This is journalism-as-art, attempting to capture the mood of the nation at this fraught moment, that others in the future may know how it felt to live through the present. Hopefully there will still be readers then. [ [Sharlets] stories are as necessary as they are harrowing. The writing is explicit and expansive, almost cinematic, like looking at a battlefield from above. Altogether, its a rare achievement, a cultural-political book that is literary.... [ Jeff Sharlet is one of our essential guides through the Age of Trump, that fascist nightmare and what he describes... as the 'Trumpocene.' [ Sharlets books require the kind of reportage that feels both immersive and terrifyinghis work takes him deep into uncomfortable territory, holding a mirror up to the world we think we live in to reveal another place altogether. Thats what Theres no better guide to the things falling apart. At once heartbreaking and quietly hopeful.& These dispatches immerse readers in the currents threatening to pull a nation apart, while skirting the nihilism that could drag us under. Jeff Sharlets rich narrative prose unpacks a worldview in which US democracy is an existential threat. These essays are an essential read for all Americans. In these reports from Americas different corners there comes a feeling for why were so broken and what it might take to heal. Bl3.