Paranoid Style in American Politics

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

The classic - and very funny - account of the dark side of American politics

'American political life ... has served again and again as an arena for uncommonly angry minds'

How can a country be captured by rumours, surreal conspiracy theories and the most brazen of conmen? The historian Richard Hofstadter asked these questions in the 1960s, amid fears of rising extremism in America. Yet his dazzling dissection of the paranoid worldview - a brew of overheated exaggeration, suspicion and perceived victimhood, which can derail entire nations - is a lesson for the ages in the seductive politics of the irrational.

In an era where we feel assailed by endless paranoid public statements, Hofstadter's discussion of famous and obscure untruths, some of which have profoundly impacted American domestic and foreign policy, provide the antidote for the present day.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9780241802007
Published: May 2026

Number of pages: 352
Width: 129 mm
Height: 197 mm
Depth: 22 mm

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd