
American Rule
How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed Its People
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Narrated by:
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MacLeod Andrews
About this listen
From writer and political analyst Jared Yates Sexton comes an eye-opening journey through American history that unearths and debunks the myths we've always told ourselves.
Recent years have brought a reckoning in America. As rampant political corruption, stark inequality, and violent bigotry have come to the fore, many have faced two vital questions: How did we get here? And how do we move forward?
An honest look at the past - and how it’s been covered up - is the only way to find the answers. Americans in power have abused and subjugated others since the nation’s very beginning, and myths of America’s unique goodness have both enabled that injustice and buried the truth for generations. In American Rule, Jared Yates Sexton blends deep research with stunning storytelling, digging into each era of growth and change that led us here - and laying bare the foundational myths at the heart of the American imagination.
Stirring, unequivocal, and impossible to pause, American Rule tells the truth about what this nation has always been - and challenges us to forge a new path.
©2020 Jared Yates Sexton (P)2020 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall
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Performance
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Performance
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Good book but Recording tech is poor. Glitches
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Critic reviews
“Sexton, a professor of creative writing at Georgia Southern University, exposes the myth of American exceptionalism in this searing account.... Sexton’s survey of American political history is taut and tart.... An unflinching and well-crafted takedown of the nationalist rhetoric that fueled Trump’s rise.”(Publishers Weekly)
"Sexton continues to serve as a historical myth buster, tackling the belief of America as a fair and just government of the people, and portraying instead a broken system built by and for white elites.... Sexton is effective at drawing parallels between contemporary politics and historic events.... Recommended primarily for those concerned by the tone and direction of American politics and seeking a better understanding of the question on which the book is framed: ‘How did we get here?'" (Library Journal)
“A ‘chronicle of oppression’ that makes a rousing counter to the usual celebratory narratives of the American past.” (Kirkus Reviews)
Historical truth we need to hear
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The behind-the-scenes information on the forming of the constitution.
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The inconvenient truth
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A Must Read for Everyone
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Eye-opening, if a bit biased
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Very informative book
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A Must Read
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absolutely excellent
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If you, like many of us, have been thinking “how did we get here,” this book will hopefully help you understand the problematic nature of that question in and of itself. The truth, once you peel back the veneer of the American myth we have all been steeped in (in major and minor ways) our whole lives, is that we always have been.
The best part about this book and this author, is you can trust all of the fingers are pointed deliberately in all of the directions. Just read it. I also gained a significant amount of fun facts for dropping knowledge as well, so you could also consider it relevant for all future family gatherings.
Mostly just ingest and digest this book, it deserves it. You won’t be disappointed.
Future Required Reading
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A True History
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