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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
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Diziet
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
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
By ocurseu
Format: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
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
By thehighrise
Format: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.
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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4.2 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging and enlightening rant about the American hinterland
You'll find didactic answers here to questions I bet you didn't even realise you wanted to ask: why do any poor Americans vote Republican - the party of big business and the rich? Read more
Published 14 days ago by Louise the book worm
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Just love the book , bought it for my husband , he will love reading it I'm sure ,great christmas present
Published 4 months ago by Liz Steer
5.0 out of 5 stars
An eye opener
The is a book about the plight of typical working class small town Americans and the utter lack of control they have in their lives in a so called free country. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read it for a better understanding of America
I haven't had much exposure the part of America that Bageant describes. Although I served in the military and come from a family of coal miners on my father's side and have met... Read more
Published 13 months ago by M. Longazel
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Rant rather than a Book
I read this as part of a book club. We were keen to get some non-fiction in. I was hoping was going to enlighten me a little more about what 'red neck' life is really about. Read more
Published on 17 May 2011 by Rob-Bow12
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb
A superb, insightful, beautifully written book - humane and often funny, often poignant, it offers tremendous insight into the American margins, the largely invisible and voiceless... Read more
Published on 1 May 2011 by Arsenal Fan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Steeped in anger and compassion
This is a most instructive book about WHY there is such a groundswell of support for Republicanism from the poor whites of America. Read more
Published on 17 April 2011 by Lady Fancifull
5.0 out of 5 stars
Subjects Coverered Are Important And Relevant
Yeah sure parts of this book are depressing, but I do suspect that might be the point and it needs to be. Read more
Published on 18 Feb 2011 by Katy M
3.0 out of 5 stars
Like the views but it got a bit tedious
I agree with Paul Welsh
This is an interesting book to start off with but it wore me down and I had to stop about 2/3rds of the way through. Read more
This is an interesting book to start off with but it wore me down and I had to stop about 2/3rds of the way through. Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2008 by Tj Hill
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much more interesting than I expected
I would never have considered myself a redneck or to have any redneck values - until I read this book and, with some horror, I realised that there is redneck in all of us. Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2008 by Greybeard
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