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Reviews
Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting by W. Scott Poole
darchildre's review against another edition
4.0
This was actually pretty fascinating and I enjoyed what I read of it. However, I got distracted halfway through and didn't come back to it before it was due back at the library. I'll have to check it out again sometime.
misandrywitch's review against another edition
4.0
I want to read an update of this book written in 2020 because whoof. Really comprehensive and great.
whatsheread's review against another edition
What makes a monster a monster? More importantly, what is the definition of a monster? In Monsters in America, Scott Poole asks these thought-provoking questions while traveling through American history following the evolution of the monster over time.
Separated by significant eras in American history, a reader gets a clear picture of how the definition of a monster changes depending on the cultural and political events of an era. Poole presents his findings methodically through well-documented facts and similar studies. Starting with the Puritan era and the fear of witches and ending with the modern-day fascination with the monsters within us, i.e. serial killers, each generation faced its own challenges and highlighted its fear within its own monsters. Especially enlightening is the the animistic portrayal and subsequent fear of African-Americans that has permeated society since they were first brought to the Americas on slave ships. What's worse is how these monster images exist even until today.
Mr. Poole's evidence is as intriguing as it is informative. It is an alternative view of history through something that is not necessarily studied in such depth and over such a long period of time. Monsters highlight both the positives and negatives in any society, and as such, require the reader to open one's mind and accept that the history taught in history books may not be the truth. The fear of anything not considered "normal" or not well-understood - e.g. Indians, the physically disabled, African-Americans, deep-sea animals or mammals, science - is a powerful motivator and caused society to vilify those that do not fit the acceptable mold. Anything outside the norm brought about the birth of a monster, which can differ depending on the social, economic, cultural, or political influences of the time.
After reading Monsters in America, a reader will view monsters in a completely different light. No longer just something that goes bump in the night, Mr. Poole showcases that monsters have more meaning and shed more insight into society than one might have previously suspected. Well-written and engaging, Monsters in America is a must-read for anyone fascinated by history or monsters or both.
Separated by significant eras in American history, a reader gets a clear picture of how the definition of a monster changes depending on the cultural and political events of an era. Poole presents his findings methodically through well-documented facts and similar studies. Starting with the Puritan era and the fear of witches and ending with the modern-day fascination with the monsters within us, i.e. serial killers, each generation faced its own challenges and highlighted its fear within its own monsters. Especially enlightening is the the animistic portrayal and subsequent fear of African-Americans that has permeated society since they were first brought to the Americas on slave ships. What's worse is how these monster images exist even until today.
Mr. Poole's evidence is as intriguing as it is informative. It is an alternative view of history through something that is not necessarily studied in such depth and over such a long period of time. Monsters highlight both the positives and negatives in any society, and as such, require the reader to open one's mind and accept that the history taught in history books may not be the truth. The fear of anything not considered "normal" or not well-understood - e.g. Indians, the physically disabled, African-Americans, deep-sea animals or mammals, science - is a powerful motivator and caused society to vilify those that do not fit the acceptable mold. Anything outside the norm brought about the birth of a monster, which can differ depending on the social, economic, cultural, or political influences of the time.
After reading Monsters in America, a reader will view monsters in a completely different light. No longer just something that goes bump in the night, Mr. Poole showcases that monsters have more meaning and shed more insight into society than one might have previously suspected. Well-written and engaging, Monsters in America is a must-read for anyone fascinated by history or monsters or both.
sistermagpie's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty enjoyable read, but there was no big revelations. I think the problem was just that it covered such a lot of time--it was really just an overview, so it was impossible to really dig into different ideas. Each type of fear/monster could have been its own book (racism, slavery, war, dis-figuration, Roe vs. Wade, social upheaval etc.). In fact at times I found myself thinking about books referred to in the text that I'd read and thought how they spoke about things in more interesting ways.
I'm definitely going to go through the bibliography and filmography to check for anything I've missed, though!
I'm definitely going to go through the bibliography and filmography to check for anything I've missed, though!
saintboleyn's review against another edition
4.0
damn good primer on monsters in America. wish it felt more “american”- some of the trends were too broad, and I wish there’d been more emphasis on early America (e.g. the bell witch, the roanaoke colony, etc.) but on the whole, an engaging and thought provoking read
ehmannky's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
5.0
This is such an interesting and compelling about our connection to the monstrous and the monstrous' role in expressing national anxieties in our popular media. Poole never assumes a 1-1 metaphor, but he does show how common themes (the reemergence of the vampire at different points in American history, for example) are useful shorthand for working through these anxieties. He also doesn't shy away from the role of the monstrous in helping maintain oppressive regimes and the status quo. I appreciated that in this second edition he shows how our language of the monstrous has played a role in instances like the police shootings of unarmed black people and how visions of dread play into Donald Trump's rhetoric. But he also shows that the monstrous can be sympathetic, that it can also be used by the oppressed to speak back to the mainstream.
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