| Description |
xxi, 266 pages ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
Born in a small town: an introduction -- Welcome to the exit: a suburban-exurban tour -- The Confederacy stronghold of Northern Illinois -- Godzilla Jesus -- A political traffic jam -- Busted on a bad bet -- Men at war -- Nowhere, USA -- Ignorance is Hell -- No escape -- The bohemian suburb versus exurbistan -- When the walls come crumbling down -- Cry for hope. |
| Summary |
Beyond a fanatical devotion to former President Donald Trump, one of the curious things that united the rank and file of the January 6 insurrectionist mob was that many of them were residents of one of America's fastest growing residential Exurbia. Home to the likes of Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ohio's Jim Jordan, big box retailers, chain restaurants, monster trucks and megachurches, exurbia is beocming America's greatest political battleground, more important to American politics than urban or rural America. In this brilliant work of political and cultural inquiry, veteran political journalist David Masciotra provides a definitive account of what Exurbia is, how it came to be, and how it's transforming American life. Zooming in outside the greater metropolitan area of Chicago — where Masciaotra grew up — he shows how exurbia has become a safe space to fly the MAGA flag and romanticize the mores of the pre-Civil Rights, pre-feminist, pre-gay rights 1950s. But, as Masciotra also shows, conservative white flight is not the whole story of small-town America. The story often lost is the power and persistence of small town liberals — people who believe in equality, celebrate diversity, and enroll in movements for justice. Exurbia, as it turns out, is ground zero for the fight over a democracy mightily beleagured, yet still full of promise, and still worth fighting for. |
| Subject |
Small cities -- Political aspects -- United States.
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Suburbanites -- Political activity -- United States.
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Right and left (Political science) -- United States.
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Democracy -- United States.
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United States -- Politics and government -- 21st century.
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| ISBN |
9781685890896 (hardcover) |
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168589089X (hardcover) |
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