Our country is at a crisis point. Osnos dates the problem from September 11th when the United States was shocked by being attacked by terrorists flying planes into our iconic buildings. The anger was real and hasn’t abated. It has led to political divisions where people have become less and less able to see the other person’s point of view.
To try to get an understanding of what was going on in the country and what people were thinking, Osnos centered on three locations he was familiar with, Creenwich, Connecticut, Clasksburg, West Virginia and Chicago, Illinois. These three areas cover a broad spectrum of American communities. Greenwich is the home of the very rich, Clarksburg shows rural poverty, and Chicago is the urban city filled with crime and poverty. Interviewing people in these locations Osnos was able to give a broad view of the emotions driving our political divide.
I found this a very important and interesting book. Clearly our country is in trouble. This can be seen in the way people are responding to the Covid crisis. There is little to no tolerance for the ideas of others. Vaccinated individuals are ready to kill the unvaccinated. It even carries over into whether scientific research showing divergent views can be tolerated. I found Osnos book very helpful in understanding where these viewpoints are coming from and how they affect the current climate.
I received this book from NetGalley for this review.
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