THE CRUELTY IS THE POINT: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump's America
殘酷關鍵：川普時代的過去現在未來
內容介紹
被NPR評為年度最佳圖書之一！
川普召集了美國歷史上最奸詐的力量，並以一位領導者的輕鬆方式指揮了他們。
對許多人來說，目前的國際情勢、政治危機似乎是前所未有的不按牌理，甚至不符合美國國情，但它並非如表面看到的如此。《大西洋》雜誌的獲獎記者亞當·塞爾(Adam Serwer)在這本極具洞見的著作中，剖析了近期我們記憶中最具破壞性的時刻、揭示了根深蒂固的政治變革以及一套幾乎和美國一樣古老的模式。
不論是1月6日國會暴動事件、還是當時美國國內反移民高漲的情緒或者是美國獨裁主義，都有其歷史的根源，這說明了無論唐納·川普是否任職美國總統，這些議題都有它們生生不息的力量。川普離開白宮之後的美國局勢，更能證明了這一點。作者塞爾認為，川普並非始作俑者，而是美國社會變化的徵兆，書名「殘酷關鍵」(the cruelty is the point)成為對川普時代的描述之一，但正如本書所展示的，它是跨越了幾個世紀的共鳴並且結合了啟示性的報導、精闢的分析和令人為之振奮的清晰度。
在這本暢銷書處女作中，塞爾條理優雅地剖析了白人至上主義對政治制度的深刻影響，審視了「敗局命定」(Lost Cause)的湧動、警界的過去和現在、美好的移民神話以及反猶太主義的多種面貌。在闡述的過程中提供大量證據，證明我們的過去就是現在，並紮實地傳遞「若繼續視而不見將付出巨大的代價」，讓人讀來不忍卒目又得面對。
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作者介紹
自2016年起為《大西洋》雜誌(The Atlantic)的特約撰稿人，經常以歷史角度關注當代政治，曾在《紐約時報》上寫了一篇關於共和黨的專欄文章，引起很大的迴響。獲頒2015年新聞記者公會(Sigma Delta Chi)評論獎以及2019年全國黑人記者協會卓越禮讚獎(Salute to Excellence award)，以及2019年希爾曼觀點新聞獎(Hillman Prize for opinion journalism)。現在與家人住在德克薩斯州的聖安東尼奧。
書評
“Serwer’s writing has been indispensable to understanding the chaotic world around us. Incisive, elegant, and deeply anchored in history, The Cruelty Is the Point is an essential guide to a perilous time in American life.”—Jelani Cobb, New Yorker contributor and author of The Substance of Hope
“Adam Serwer is the most incisive political writer of our time.”—Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy
“The essays in The Cruelty Is the Point combine an unsparing accounting of our history with an astute examination of our present.”—Wesley Lowery, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of They Can’t Kill Us All
“Serwer’s powerful truth-telling grabs us, shakes us, and warns us that as long as we wishfully forget the history of American cruelty, we will fail to see it coming for all that we hold dear.”—Heather McGhee, author of The Sum of Us
“No journalist has done more to advance our understanding of American power abuse in the age of Donald Trump than Adam Serwer.”—Rebecca Traister, author of Good and Mad
“For those of us trying to find our way through the fog of the Trump era, Adam Serwer’s essays served as a constant source of illumination and inspiration. The Cruelty Is the Point is an absolute must-read.”—Kevin M. Kruse, professor of history, Princeton University
“Atlantic journalist Serwer reflects on the antecedents, methods, and legacies of Trumpism in his clear-eyed and incisive debut essay collection. . . . Serwer draws parallels [and] . . .[CE1] threads in snippets of his own biracial background and offers concise and illuminating history lessons on the Nation of Islam, the eugenics movement in America, and police unionization, among other topics. . . . This sober-minded inquiry into the Trump era provides essential perspective.”—Publishers Weekly
“A cogent examination of the challenges America faces. In a vigorous collection of more than a dozen essays, award-winning journalist Serwer, a staff writer at The Atlantic and former fellow at the Shorenstein Center at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, considers the social and ideological forces that led to Trump’s presidency and, without intervention, will continue to shape American society. . . . A strong contribution to conversations about racism, injustice, and violence, all of which continue to plague this country.”—Kirkus Reviews