4thace@books.theunseen.city reviewed They Knew by Sarah Kendzior
The government has been on fire for some time
4 stars
It took a long time to get through this audiobook, not because of any fault with the writing but because of the harrowing facts dug out of private archives and nationally televised hearings which describe how the bulk of American society has been made irrelevant by organized crime and its friends. The Trumps are in it, of course, but they were covered in the author's previous book so here they just sit on the sidelines, chummy with the likes of Roy Cohn and Senator Joseph McCarthy. There is no hypothesis advanced for why this country is such fertile ground for these conspirators and the ones who advance conspiracy theories, maybe because we don't currently have a good perspective on the immunity other places have had (though not all). The tone of the audiobook is a little breathless as though the burden of telling horrible truths that get ignored, Cassandra-style, is …
It took a long time to get through this audiobook, not because of any fault with the writing but because of the harrowing facts dug out of private archives and nationally televised hearings which describe how the bulk of American society has been made irrelevant by organized crime and its friends. The Trumps are in it, of course, but they were covered in the author's previous book so here they just sit on the sidelines, chummy with the likes of Roy Cohn and Senator Joseph McCarthy. There is no hypothesis advanced for why this country is such fertile ground for these conspirators and the ones who advance conspiracy theories, maybe because we don't currently have a good perspective on the immunity other places have had (though not all). The tone of the audiobook is a little breathless as though the burden of telling horrible truths that get ignored, Cassandra-style, is forcing her to lay it all out there. It is disturbing as hell, and unsettling as it declines to specify a way out of the predicament the country is in. Of course this came out before the 2024 elections but these developments seem of a piece.
Is it an important book? I don't know in the short run, but I wouldn't be surprised if it earns a place in the history of the second Gilded Age when future generations try to piece together why and how this country got to where it is now. Calling out this unhealthy strain as it shows in the past several decades is a public service even if there is no takeaway on what to do about it. I wish there were a champion who had the toughness to take this message out there for people to rally around despite the threats that would almost certainly threaten their safety.