The Age of American Unreason

The Age of American Unreason examines anti-intellectualism and anti-rationalism in contemporary American society. Susan Jacoby traces historical and cultural forces that have shaped public discourse and critical thinking from the Founding Fathers to the present day. Jacoby analyzes the roles of mass media, education, politics, and religion in America's relationship with reason and intellectual pursuit. She documents shifts in how Americans consume and process information, from the print culture of early America to the digital age. The work combines cultural criticism with social history to identify key moments and movements that influenced American attitudes toward intellectualism. Through research and observation, Jacoby connects past patterns to current trends in American public life. The book presents a commentary on the tension between enlightenment values and anti-rational impulses in American culture. Its examination of how societies approach knowledge and truth remains relevant to ongoing debates about expertise, facts, and public discourse.

Readers view this book as a passionate critique of anti-intellectualism in America, though many find it too partisan and pessimistic. Readers appreciated: - Clear documentation of historical anti-intellectual trends - Analysis of media's impact on critical thinking - Connections between education decline and social media - Discussion of science denial and religious fundamentalism Common criticisms: - Too much focus on conservative/religious targets - Repetitive arguments and examples - Condescending tone toward middle America - Lacks solutions or ways forward - Nostalgic view of past intellectual life Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (2,800+ ratings) Amazon: 3.8/5 (190+ ratings) Sample reader comments: "Well-researched but reads like an extended rant" - Goodreads reviewer "Important message buried in partisan finger-pointing" - Amazon reviewer "Strong on diagnosis, weak on prescription" - LibraryThing reviewer

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🔹 Susan Jacoby wrote The Age of American Unreason after witnessing two young men at a Manhattan coffee shop being unable to locate Iraq on a map, despite the U.S. being at war there. 🔹 The book draws parallels between the current anti-intellectual climate and the historical "Know-Nothing" movement of the 1850s, which was marked by anti-immigrant sentiment and anti-intellectualism. 🔹 As a child, Jacoby spent countless hours reading in her local library, which was housed in a Carnegie building—one of 2,509 libraries funded by industrialist Andrew Carnegie across America to promote public education. 🔹 The term "junk thought," which Jacoby discusses extensively in the book, was first coined by Richard Hofstadter in his 1963 work "Anti-intellectualism in American Life." 🔹 Jacoby argues that the average sound bite in presidential campaigns shortened from 42.3 seconds in 1968 to just 7.3 seconds by 2000, reflecting what she sees as a diminishing attention span in American public discourse.