Book cover of The Divide: How Fanatical Certitude Is Destroying Democracy

Book description

Why our obsession with truth--the idea that some undeniable truth will make politics unnecessary--is driving our political polarization.

In The Divide, Taylor Dotson argues provocatively that what drives political polarization is not our disregard for facts in a post-truth era, but rather our obsession with truth. The idea that some…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Divide as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I’ve read a lot of books about American political polarization and I think this is one of the best.

Taylor focuses on our tendency to believe we’re in possession of “the truth” (something I’ve long believed is humanity’s main problem). He examines how that tendency leads to people speaking in insulting, condescending ways about their political opponents, and how this amplifies our divides.  

Taylor focuses on the certainty here, which I see as part of the broader cycle of conflict: as two groups become polarized, they’re increasingly drawn to simplistic, us-vs-them framings of the people and issues around them. The…

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Book cover of The High House

The High House by James Stoddard,

The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.

The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.

Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…

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