How we got here

We live in a time when the very idea of objective truth is mocked and discounted by the occupants of the White House. Discredited conspiracy theories and ideologies have resurfaced, proven science is once more up for debate, and Russian propaganda floods our screens. The wisdom of the crowd has usurped research and expertise, and we are each left clinging to the beliefs that best confirm our biases.
 
How did truth become an endangered species in contemporary America? This decline began decades ago, and in The Death of Truth, former New York Timescritic Michiko Kakutani takes a penetrating look at the cultural forces that contributed to this gathering storm.

This is a comprehensive, though short, study of the last half century in American political and social culture, which planted the seeds for our present turmoil and threat to democracy. Kakutani brings many sources and thinkers together in a convincing argument that shows the ascent of Trump should not be surprising but rather the dangerous culmination of ideas growing for some time. It's a frightening book, and its call to arms is less convincing than Kakutani's history because it depends on the will of the many. But how many Americans still care about our institutions? We'll find out.