Scan barcode
Reviews
The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America by Greg Grandin
lcdavenport's review against another edition
Super dense, couldn’t see myself finishing and being glad I continued reading.
c2llanes's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.5
this is a pretty dense read, but i found it informative in understanding context and certain aspects of the current political moment. it was written for and about a trump presidency, which was interesting in restrospect, but there's still a lot to be gleaned here
clarfhuntarf's review
5.0
Instead of throwing together a ragtag jumble of historical truths to make an overarching and largely uncritical partisan statement (unfortunately a common mistake in non-fiction political/historical writing), Grandin does something much different. It serves as an exploration and takedown of the all-encompassing, "Frontier." His thesis is built around the mythos of American exceptionalism through the lens of expansion and borders, one whose illusions lay alongside the promise of endlessness offered by capitalism, and whose promises ultimately exist in a constant flux faced with the threat of evaporation as violent oppression and constant war scrambles to relegitimize it.
By mixing a carefully chosen overview of little-taught American history (focusing on the forces at play in the brutal racism of Jackson's presidency, the Spanish-American War, Mexican-American War, and Seven Years War as important signifiers in reinforcing that American myth) and near-semiotic study (from steam valves to Trump's border wall) of those symbols that represent the same American myth, Grandin lays out his conclusion bit-by-bit in a comprehensive throughline. Deeply compelling and informative, The End of the Myth is also equally creative among historical non-fiction in its writing and delivery.
As Grandin borrows from poet Anne Carson in the book's introduction, "to live past the end of your myth is a perilous thing."
By mixing a carefully chosen overview of little-taught American history (focusing on the forces at play in the brutal racism of Jackson's presidency, the Spanish-American War, Mexican-American War, and Seven Years War as important signifiers in reinforcing that American myth) and near-semiotic study (from steam valves to Trump's border wall) of those symbols that represent the same American myth, Grandin lays out his conclusion bit-by-bit in a comprehensive throughline. Deeply compelling and informative, The End of the Myth is also equally creative among historical non-fiction in its writing and delivery.
As Grandin borrows from poet Anne Carson in the book's introduction, "to live past the end of your myth is a perilous thing."
tmvallehoag's review
4.0
A powerful history of America’s unjust wars and an unflinching analysis of what the “frontier” really is: wherever America is offloading its violence at a given time.
Grandin, successfully, argues that America has long put off or slowed social progress by offering an alternative in the frontier - either unlimited resources for the disenfranchised or unlimited racial violence for those who would otherwise kill their fellow citizens.
The coming of Trumpism, then, represents a new politics which simultaneously promises freedom from any sort of restraint for white Americans while acknowledging the limitations of abundance. Where former presidents were happy to turn American racial resentment outwards to Vietnam, Iraq, and Mexico, Trump has decided to drop the charade and bring the war home.
Grandin, successfully, argues that America has long put off or slowed social progress by offering an alternative in the frontier - either unlimited resources for the disenfranchised or unlimited racial violence for those who would otherwise kill their fellow citizens.
The coming of Trumpism, then, represents a new politics which simultaneously promises freedom from any sort of restraint for white Americans while acknowledging the limitations of abundance. Where former presidents were happy to turn American racial resentment outwards to Vietnam, Iraq, and Mexico, Trump has decided to drop the charade and bring the war home.