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What's the Matter with Kansas? Paperback – May 1, 2005

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,084 ratings

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Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

Kansas, once home to farmers who marched against "money power," is now solidly Republican. In Frank's scathing and high-spirited polemic, this fact is not just "the mystery of Kansas" but "the mystery of America." Dismissing much of the received punditry about the red-blue divide, Frank argues that the problem is the "systematic erasure of the economic" from discussions of class and its replacement with a notion of "authenticity," whereby "there is no bad economic turn a conservative cannot do unto his buddy in the working class, as long as cultural solidarity has been cemented over a beer." The leaders of this backlash, by focussing on cultural issues in which victory is probably impossible (abortion, "filth" on TV), feed their base's sense of grievance, abetted, Frank believes, by a "criminally stupid" Democratic strategy of triangulation. Liberals do not need to know more about nascar; they need to talk more about money and class.
Copyright © 2005
The New Yorker

Review

“The best political book of the year.” ―Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times

“Frank is a formidable controversialist-imagine Michael Moore with a trained brain and an intellectual conscience.” ―
George F. Will, The Washington Post

“Brilliant.” ―
Barbara Ehrenreich, The New York Times

“Mr. Frank re-injects economic-class issues into the debate with sardonic vehemence.” ―
Jerome Weeks, The Dallas Morning News

“A searing piece of work . . . one of the most important political writings in years.” ―
The Boston Globe

“Dazzlingly insightful and wonderfully sardonic . . . Frank has made much sense of the world in this book.” ―
Chicago Tribune

“Impassioned, compelling . . . Frank's books mark him as one of the most insightful thinkers of the twenty-first century, four years into it.” ―
Houston Chronicle

“Very funny and very painful . . . Add another literary gold star after Thomas Frank's name.” ―
San Francisco Chronicle

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 080507774X
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holt Paperbacks; First Edition (May 1, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 322 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780805077742
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805077742
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.84 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1,084 ratings

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Questions frequently asked Thomas Frank.

- Kansas, really?

- Aren’t you one of these liberals that you’re always scolding?

- Is it true that President Trump uses “The Wrecking Crew” as a field manual?

- “The Baffler” – what’s that all about?

- You don’t look particularly cool. Why do you write about coolness?

- Why aren’t you, like, a college professor or something?

- Why all these books about politics? I mean, that’s hardly the right subject for a culture critic or whatever it is you call yourself.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
1,084 global ratings
The answer is biological
5 Stars
The answer is biological
I think i finally figured out what eluded the author of "What's the Matter with Kansas?".This author marveled at why poor and middle class kansasians consistently voted against their own economic interest by voting republican.Human beings consistently need a purpose in their live - a passion. This purpose often is conflict with others.Biologically the average person can only be mad about a small handful of issues at once - probably only one? In every country -:when a leader goes to war against another country, people forget their economic misfortunes and rally around the leader.Take, for example flag burning.Flag burning hurts no one. It is a minor issue that rarely if ever happens.The news never explains how rare flag burning is. But people get infuriated and believe, wrongly, that flag burning is a major issue. Conservatives talk about this issue with like minded conservatives, forming stronger relationships because of this controversy.This constant anger about social issues or war helps redirect a person's dissatisfaction from the wealthy and those in power. The economic elite take advantage of this system. Whether this is planned or not is irrelevant. This is what happens.
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2005
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Castaing
4.0 out of 5 stars ? quel titre?
Reviewed in France on November 17, 2023
Santiago Vélez
5.0 out of 5 stars Muy interesante explicación de la reacción (backlash ) de los EEUU
Reviewed in Spain on January 20, 2017
SR Gor
5.0 out of 5 stars Spannend
Reviewed in Germany on May 2, 2016
One person found this helpful
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Mijmo
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 28, 2015
One person found this helpful
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BtotheS
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in Italy on November 25, 2014