Jacoby writes from a deep foundation of knowledge and insight. I am glad I read this book on the cultural milieu of US of A in the mid-aughts. Lots of it relates to our current anti-science, know-nothing culture. ( )

Good book. Could have been a great book. Unfortunately Jacoby, like most extreme fundamentalists, (religious or atheist- it really doesn't matter) has an ax to grind that gets in the way of her writing. Pity. ( )

On 9/11, Susan Jacoby ...

"Walking home to her Upper East Side apartment, she said, overwhelmed and confused, she stopped at a bar. As she sipped her bloody mary, she quietly listened to two men, neatly dressed in suits. For a second she thought they were going to compare that day’s horrifying attack to the Japanese bombing in 1941 that blew America into World War II:
“This is just like Pearl Harbor,” one of the men said.
The other asked, “What is Pearl Harbor?”
“That was when the Vietnamese dropped bombs in a harbor, and it started the Vietnam War,” the first man replied.
At that moment, Ms. Jacoby said, “I decided to write this book.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/books/14dumb.html

Preaching to the choir. I only got as far as the first half of the second chapter, but I didn't feel as if I'd be learning anything new.

Great insight into what has happen to our country. I believe, as the author, this country has basically gotten 'dumber' over the past 20 years. A lot has to do with the religious right and the Republican policies over these years. We do need to emphasize education and I think Obama is working on this. ( )