The Undertow

Kind of surreal, a meditation and journal through a country having a nervous breakdown. Worth reading and will probably stay with me for a long time.

This is a pretty insightful collection of essays on American right-wing subcultures. That said, its tone is exceedingly literary, bordering on poetic, which means if you're looking for a concrete study of the American far right, this might not be the best. The political perspective is also firmly rad-lib. The author includes land acknowledgments to establish the setting of the essays, for example.

Altogether a pretty good book.

Sharlet is such a beautiful writer that you almost forget he's telling a horror story. He interviews numerous people of all races across our country who believe that Trump is God, Ashli Babbitt (who was killed in the January 6 capitol riot) is a martyr, and only through armed insurrection will the country be set right. They're already busy preaching their unique take on the Gospels, amassing multitudes of firearms, and training militias.

The only reassurance that Sharlet can provide are bookend chapters about activists Harry Belafonte, and folksong legends The Weavers, who kept on singing even though their causes were virtually hopeless. He admits to having started his odyssey with heart problems, and one wonders if the process of researching and writing this book may have further eroded his health. It certainly raised my blood pressure.