{"product_id":"fred-s-texas-stampede-book-diane-shapley-box-9780997598919","title":"Fred's Texas Stampede","description":"\u003ci\u003eAmerican Nightmare\u003c\/i\u003e offers a brilliant study of the narrative of gloom that pervades contemporary culture. Joel Best has written an important sociological study of how America's social problems are constructed.--Frank Furedi, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Kent, Canterbury\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Joel Best reflects on one of the central and enduring paradoxes of U.S. civic culture: that collective anxiety--for the past, present, and future--shrouds the unabashed optimism of the 'American dream.' With his typical even-handedness, Best shows how activists and elites, liberals and conservatives use this anxiety to advance their competing agendas. \u003ci\u003eAmerican Nightmares\u003c\/i\u003e is a book of and for these times. It articulates the tensions and fears underlying U.S. politics and provides a careful, sociological perspective on them.--Jared Del Rosso, author of \u003ci\u003eTalking about Torture: How Political Discourse Shapes the Debate\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e If you're tired of overheated and polarized arguments, \u003ci\u003eAmerican Nightmares\u003c\/i\u003e provides an edifying respite. Joel Best's brand of critical thinking helps us see through pessimism coming from the left and the right--and from social scientists as well. In clear and engaging prose, Best shows how 'diametrically opposed' advocates often employ nearly identical rhetorical strategies to persuade audiences to take stances against perceived dangers. Politicians on the left and the right, journalists and activists, natural and social scientists--no one is off-limits in Best's pursuit of rationality and reasoned dialogue.--Scott R. Harris, author of \u003ci\u003eHow to Critique Journal Articles in the Social Sciences\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50377412608273,"sku":"CIN0997598913G","price":6.54,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50585815908625,"sku":"CIN0997598913VG","price":6.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0997598913.jpg?v=1751046504","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/products\/fred-s-texas-stampede-book-diane-shapley-box-9780997598919","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}