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Arena
His anecdotal account of his home town matches Michael Moore's polemical rage with Studs Terkel's vivid feel for everyday people
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The other side of Kansas,
By
This review is from: Deer Hunting with Jesus: Guns, Votes, Debt and Delusion in Redneck America (Paperback)
This is a very interesting read. I have read many Thomas Frank books (What's the Matter with Kansas? etc.) and I've enjoyed them; they've helped me understand some of the ideological and intellectual underpinnings of the American right.
Similarly, I have read and enjoyed Selling Your Father's Bones: The Epic Fate of the American West which gives an insight into the history of the development of the American West and the 'red necks' who pushed out the indigenous inhabitants. Couple these with God's Own Country by Stephen Bates (religious correspondent of the Guardian) and I thought maybe I knew something about what was going on in the Red States. But this book makes it real. Bageant mixes anecdote and statistic to give a real feel for what it means to be poor and to vote Republican, to explain why guns are such an emotive issue (and why Bowling For Columbine gets nowhere close), why outsourcing is feared but unions rejected, and why religion is so central. Bageant manages to get Pat Robertson and Ian Paisley into the same sentence, linking present day religious fundamentalism to the original Scots Irish settlers, suggesting direct links between the respective ideologies. And he tells the tale of Lynddie England, the woman who posed for photos standing on the bodies of tortured Iraqis. Bageant was born and raised in Virginia. He only gained a different perspective because the Vietnam war gave him an opportunity to get out and he took it. A friend of his offered a similar 'escape' became a heroin addict before being 'born again' and returning to Virginia. In a readable, intelligent and well-informed style, Bageant portrays a side of America that you very, very rarely see. The only time I can think of anything that came close was The Deer Hunter. But that did not have Bageant's humour and humanity. If you're interested in the issues raised by writers such as Thomas Frank and Kevin Phillips (see American Theocracy), then this is definitely worth a read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Joe Bageant - Deer Hunting with Jesus,
This review is from: Deer Hunting with Jesus: Guns, Votes, Debt and Delusion in Redneck America (Paperback)
I came across Joe Bageant - a rare American socialist - in some of his articles and I enjoyed his style, vaguely reminiscent of Hunter Thompson & other rare critics of everyday America. Just as I heard of his recent passing, I tried to order the title from Amazon US, both as a book and alternatively as an audio-book. Both were declined for delivery to Cyprus. I didn't understand, why those items were barred from export, but was happy to find them at Amazon UK.
Having now read half of "Deer Hunting..." and having also obtained Joe Bageant's "Rain Bow Pie" from the same source, I could understand US-reluctance to reveal the horrible skeletons hidden in plain sight in many parts of the rural America. Having experiences parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania way back in 1960 I can quite easily empathize with the author about life in big areas of the United States, where most life seems to take place "on the wrong side of the (railroad) tracks". More recent, extended visits in 1979, in 1988 & in 1996 to many parts of the western states, straddling the Rocky Mountains and the Continental Divide from Alaska to Arizona, have given me the sense that the America seen and critically depicted by Joe Bageant deserves to be visited - if only in his writing, as it opens one's eyes to a reality none of the main US-media ever cares to reveal. Knowing such views of the US-reality helps to understand official efforts to protect the status-quo, as the alternative may seem too frightening. I regret Joe Bageant's passing and consider him an authoritative voice - now lost - (whom too few wanted to hear). I recommend his writing, as an honest, sometimes humorous account of reality - not as entertainment. ocurseu
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thought-provoking,
By thehighrise (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Deer Hunting with Jesus: Guns, Votes, Debt and Delusion in Redneck America (Paperback)
I really wanted to understand, in greater detail, the reason for the solid Republican vote which is still evident in the southern USA and this book looked to be just what I wanted.
Bageant understands the reasons because he was brought up in the south - he can talk to people who live within southern right-wing God-fearing gun-toting communities and gain their trust, and therefore their honest thoughts, on why they vote and live the way they do; the issues and problems these communities face (literacy, history, political marginalisation), and which the liberal elite are quick to dismiss. Bageant isn't patronising, but neither does he condone the more fanatical wing, and is able to present clear reasoning to the reader without trying to elicit sympathy.
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