Western Self-Contempt: Oikophobia in the Decline of Civilizations By Benedict Beckeld. Northern Illinois University Press, 2022 Hardcover, 264 pages, $32.95. Reviewed by Daniel Fischer. Americans’ relationship with their country resembles a fraying marriage....
The Good Country: A History of the American Midwest, 1800-1900 By Jon K. Lauck. University of Oklahoma Press, 2022. Paperback, 366 pages, $26.95. Reviewed by Daniel J. Fischer. Historians have a complicated job. Their ultimate aim should be to use the available...
"Haven’s book is an engaging introduction to Girard. Reading through its presentation of the components and explanatory power of mimetic theory, it becomes clear Americans have arrived at a time for a very different kind of choosing."
"Knowing the truth about scapegoating does not mean it has been abandoned. Indeed, while people have become increasingly good at seeing the scapegoats of others as just that, scapegoats, they remain convinced their enemies really are evil."