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What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America
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Average Rating:  out of 377 Reviews
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Price: $16.00
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Sale: $3.99
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Manufacturer: Holt Paperbacks
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780805077742
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Paperback
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Author: Thomas Frank
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Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
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Dewey Decimal Number: 978.1033
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Publication Date: 2005-05-01
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Reading Level: 336
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Description: The largely blue collar citizens of Kansas can be counted upon to be a "red" state in any election, voting solidly Republican and possessing a deep animosity toward the left. This, according to author Thomas Frank, is a pretty self-defeating phenomenon, given that the policies of the Republican Party benefit the wealthy and powerful at the great expense of the average worker. According to Frank, the conservative establishment has tricked Kansans, playing up the emotional touchstones of conservatism and perpetuating a sense of a vast liberal empire out to crush traditional values while barely ever discussing the Republicans' actual economic policies and what they mean to the working class. Thus the pro-life Kansas factory worker who listens to Rush Limbaugh will repeatedly vote for the party that is less likely to protect his safety, less likely to protect his job, and less likely to benefit him economically. To much of America, Kansas is an abstract, "where Dorothy wants to return. Where Superman grew up." But Frank, a native Kansan, separates reality from myth in What's the Matter with Kansas and tells the state's socio-political history from its early days as a hotbed of leftist activism to a state so entrenched in conservatism that the only political division remaining is between the moderate and more-extreme right wings of the same party. Frank, the founding editor of The Baffler and a contributor to Harper's and The Nation, knows the state and its people. He even includes his own history as a young conservative idealist turned disenchanted college Republican, and his first-hand experience, combined with a sharp wit and thorough reasoning, makes his book more credible than the elites of either the left and right who claim to understand Kansas. --John Moe
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: Spot on Analysis |
Date: 2008-10-24 |
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Details: As somebody who grew up in Kansas and then subsequently moved to New York, I can honestly say that Thomas Frank accurately captures the ideology prevalent in Kansas when it comes to national politics, the narrow minded scope of political understanding there, and the reasons why folks in midwestern states like Kansas are easily misled by the Republican party into literally voting against their own economic interests in the name of "values." |
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Review Summary: After paying, never received it!!!!!! |
Date: 2008-10-14 |
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Details: I'm very disappointed! After paying for it to be sent from a seller in the marketplace (bordee books), I have not received it and the seller is (in my opinion) giving me a hard time about getting me a copy of it. Their solution was to "wait and see if it comes. Get back to us in a week or so." If it was possible, I would give ZERO stars! Think twice about using this seller! |
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Review Summary: Middle America Revealed |
Date: 2008-10-10 |
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Details: This is a must read for political junkies, especially Democrats and liberals who can't comprehend why rural middle class Americans continue to vote Republican when doing so is clearly not in their best economic interests. Using Kansas as perhaps the best example of this phenomenon, the author does an excellent job of analyzing the cultural, political, and economic forces that have caused middle America to shift strongly to the right over the past 40 years. From this book, I came away with a deeper understanding of American politics, especially the Reagan conservative revolution that forged an unlikey but successful alliance of Wall Street capitalists and social conservative evangelicals to form the modern Republican machine. |
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Review Summary: liberals: vote for us cause you're an idiot |
Date: 2008-09-07 |
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Details: I read this book a little over a year ago in response to a suggestion
from a left wing blogger. I suppose to be fair, I should go back and
reread the book in order to do a better review. But I'll try to "wing
it" by memory, which may be a real challenge because the book is
quite forgetable.
Basically the entire premise revolves around the idea that you morons out
there don't know what's good for you. So, the thing to do is to vote for
the left because they know best.
Whoever you are, left or right, liberal or conservative- you probably
deserve a little more credit than that. You'll vote for who you think is
best; best for you or for your country. I'll make a deal with liberals:
don't call me stupid for voting conservative, and I won't call you stupid.
I may think you're pretty stupid, but I'll keep that to myself. |
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Review Summary: Another native supporter |
Date: 2008-08-08 |
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Details: I just want to say that this book is completely on target and right about the political mindset of Kansas citizens in addition to almost every other right-winged American. I should know -- I used to live in Kansas. Luckily, I spent most of my life growing up in NY because after realizing many of the same conclusions of Thomas Frank, my mom knew we had to leave. The book was very well written and kept me smiling throughout because his descriptions ring true to my personal experience living there - they brought back so many memories of the extreme conservative mindset of all of my family and friends in KS. Anyone who lives in the midwest, has an open mind and understands politics can learn a great deal from this book; and anyone who disagrees is clearly ignorant of the truth. |
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