Book Discussion "The Undertow" by Jeff Sharlet

Our book for October is The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War by journalist and author Jeff Sharlet.

Note: Date is 4th, rather than 3rd, Saturday.

From Amazon:
An unmatched guide to the religious dimensions of American politics, Jeff Sharlet journeys into corners of our national psyche where others fear to tread. The Undertow is both inquiry and meditation, an attempt to understand how, over the last decade, reaction has morphed into delusion, social division into distrust, distrust into paranoia, and hatred into fantasies – sometimes realities – of violence.

Across the country, men “of God” glorify materialism, a gluttony of the soul, while citing Scripture and preparing for civil war – a firestorm they long for as an absolution and exaltation...Framing this dangerous vision, Sharlet remembers and celebrates the courage of those who sing a different song of community, and of an America long dreamt of and yet to be fully born, dedicated to justice and freedom for all.

"Jeff Sharlet’s startling, Didion-esque The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, with its CinemaScope landscapes and slightest of hopes, visits the dirt lanes and country rallies where Christian nationalism threatens." – Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune