How America Went Haywire - A 500-Year History

Andersen does it great job of historically detailing how we have arived at the position we are in today, especially the political. He walks the reader through what led to the American love affair with relativism.

A good read despite a faulty premise. Does the "fantasy"of Mormons and Pentecostals really exceed the harm caused by the Nazi fantasy or the "Great Leap Forward" of Mao. Human beings are pretty much the same and an "American Exceptionalism" is itself fantasy.

Detailed history of the different ways people forgo science and logic and believe all sorts of nonsense. It is amazing how someone would not believe science based on research and data and accept something they read on the Internet from a source they know nothing about.

A really fascinating look at the long, slow slide America is taking from reality. It challenges some very well ingrained beliefs that many Americans hold dear. After reading Andersen's book, I wonder how many people took an inner inventory of what they hold dear and why.

Insightful and timely, this book paints a clear picture of the roots of the ridiculousness that has taken over America. I have read many descriptions of why this country elected an ignoramus for president. Many of those reasons now seem to be only symptoms. Fantasyland describes the disease.

I bought the book after hearing Kurt interviewed on The Atlantic Radio. The book is very well researched and personally quite eye-opening. The historical connections are weaved with great precision and without any disgenuine motive to perfectly connect all dots. A very important read in this chapter of history we are living.

Every American needs to read this, and to begin contemplating just what the hell America is all about. Who's really nuts? We are like nothing else that has ever appeared on this planet, the seeming culmination of the gathering insanity of the ages. In a way, Trump is Jesus, back again to bewilder us, bring us to self-examination. Where did we first go wrong? How much of human history is totally pathological? No man can know the extent to which he may be deluded. And now here we are in America, the end of the line. From the beginning, we've been hucksters, charlatans, madmen. I especially liked the portrait of Joseph Smith, the wellspring of Mormonism, a proto-Donald Trump if ever there was one. The great irony is captured here by Andersen: we may yet prove to be the best hope of humanity, in a way the "founding fathers" never envisaged. The way down may prove to be the way out, if it brings us to our senses. Or is it too late?

I had heard several interviews,with the author and heard good reports on radio shows and podcasts. I am intensely interested in how we Americans have gotten so polarized and how we've learned to ignore facts in favor of feelings. The author explores this somewhat. He provides the names of the books and 'philosophies' that supported choosing fantasy over reality in each period of American history, and this is very informative. He does not, however, explain why these books and philosophies dominated when there must have been others with the opposite views. Having read the whole book, though I know that people choose fantasy over truth, I still don't understand why. It's not always easier and often it's detrimental.
One problem I have with the book (and it cost a,star) is the attitude toward religious belief. It's obvious early on that the author is not a person of faith. He discusses this some during the final pages, but nothing said there is not obvious from the preceding 98% of the book. He's kind enough to us believers, but, to me, he ascribes too much of our fantasyland mentality as tied to religion. People of faith are not necessarily averse to rational thought, science, and the value of facts, even if we believe in an eternal God and miracles in our lifetime. I'm a believer, but I still insist on facts in our national discourse.
Overall I recommend the book, but it may not give all the answers you seek.

I had heard several interviews,with the author and heard good reports on radio shows and podcasts. I am intensely interested in how we Americans have gotten so polarized and how we've learned to ignore facts in favor of feelings. The author explores this somewhat. He provides the names of the books and 'philosophies' that supported choosing fantasy over reality in each period of American history, and this is very informative. He does not, however, explain why these books and philosophies dominated when there must have been others with the opposite views. Having read the whole book, though I know that people choose fantasy over truth, I still don't understand why. It's not always easier and often it's detrimental.
One problem I have with the book (and it cost a,star) is the attitude toward religious belief. It's obvious early on that the author is not a person of faith. He discusses this some during the final pages, but nothing said there is not obvious from the preceding 98% of the book. He's kind enough to us believers, but, to me, he ascribes too much of our fantasyland mentality as tied to religion. People of faith are not necessarily averse to rational thought, science, and the value of facts, even if we believe in an eternal God and miracles in our lifetime. I'm a believer, but I still insist on facts in our national discourse.
Overall I recommend the book, but it may not give all the answers you seek.

Finally, this crazy era of magical thinking, lies, conspiracy theories and greed makes sense. That's what Kurt Andersen's book did for me. I feel like I gained crucial wisdom from this brilliant work of nonfiction. He starts 500 years ago and explains in vivid and often humorous detail why Americans are exceptional -- and that isn't a compliment.

Andersen points out how the advertising of the 1600s looked quite different from the way it looks today, but was equally effective. It worked so well, that people starting coming to the New World in astonishing numbers. Because these ancient ad campaigns touted mountains of gold and a Garden of Eden for religious and magical thinking, most of the colonists were self-selected for their greed and gullibility. You can still detect their influence to this day.

This beautifully written book shows how we got to this dangerous and frustrating place, where few can detect falsehoods, nearly everyone has a pet conspiracy theory, people will do anything for money and the vast majority believe in devils, angels, heaven and a sky daddy who keeps them under surveillance 24/7.

Thank you, Mr. Andersen, for enlightening me. This turned out to be one of the most illuminating, entertaining and enjoyable books I've ever read.

This powerful book should be a must read for every American. No one will agree with all of it, but it is enlightening and moving and ends on at least a vaguely hopeful note. For those of us who believe that FACTS do exist, and that there are definable boundaries as to what is real, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!

I almost used up my pen by marking great quotable insights from this book! From Salem Witch Trials, Joe McCarthy, UFOs, Mormons, idiotic psychological legerdemain, Trump, it's all there and things I've been saying for years. I was about 3/4 the way through and I said out loud, "He's got it all figured out except for the fact that America is now a country of 7 year olds. From our movies, TV and music and politics, its' just not adult!" And then came a chapter on that very thing! So Andersen's got it all covered as far as I can see. (In case you don't know, the Greatest Generation folks were very very serious people. They'd been through a Great Depression and WW 2 and they buckled down after the war and went to work building the world we now live in. By the time they were 30, they focused on jobs, family and building the country. My baby boom generation was always soft and silly compared to them. But the current new generation has completely reverted to the levels of 7 year olds in many ways. Trump is the epitome of this even though he's over 70, by the way.

The movie Idiocracy is the cinematic version of this book, and both seem to explain the seemingly hopeless situation we now find ourselves. So read this book at your own peril-------it will explain just about everything in one fell swoop!

Well written summary of some important history which has greatly influenced USA. It does seem to drag on a bit, but I now find myself explaining some current events (at least for myself) in terms of the "Fantasyland" which many have inherited or have built for themselves.

Armstrong shines a bright light on our fractured culture and weakened society. If we do not want to go the way of recent fascist totalitarian regimes we must not permit lies and I!lusions to blot out truths.

I don't know when Andersen started writing this book, but with Trump at the helm and his hand in reach of the BUTTON, the U.S. finds itself in the grip of forces that can only be described as insane. What Andersen provides is a map of how we got here, starting with the very first white people who stepped ashore in Virginia and New England. If anything, it sure cure anyone who thinks their Mayflower relatives were anything but maniacs of that pitiful delusion. Andersen makes no firm statements on how we can burst the fantasy bubble and return to the reality based community...but who could. Our next leader will need the power of an exorcist and the empathy of a psychiatrist.

This is a very thorough, well thought out and executed examination of the craziness run rampant in our American society. I learned a lot about our history and present and have new guidance as I approach the future.

I found this book enlightening and disturbing. It seems as if there is no hope based on his extensive analysis. This book is comprehensive sometimes to its detriment. I think it is a fascinating look at our history.