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Author May, Elaine Tyler, author.

Title Fortress America : how we embraced fear and abandoned democracy / Elaine Tyler May.

Publisher New York : Basic Books, 2017.

ISBN 9780465055920 (hardcover)
0465055923 (hardcover)



Location Call No. Status Message
 Main-Adult  364.1097 May    AVAILABLE  ---

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Edition First edition.
Description vii, 247 pages : illustrations, photographs ; 25 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents Introduction -- Gimme shelter: security in the atomic age -- The color of danger: from red to black -- Vigilante virtue: fantasy, reality, and the law -- Women: victims or villains? -- Locked up America: self-incarceration and the illusion of security -- Back to the future: the 21st century -- Epilogue.
Summary For the last sixty years, fear has seeped into every area of American life: Americans own more guns than citizens of any other country, sequester themselves in gated communities, and retreat from public spaces. And yet, crime rates have plummeted, making life in America safer than ever. Why, then, are Americans so afraid and where does this fear lead to? In this remarkable work of social history, Elaine Tyler May demonstrates how our obsession with security has made citizens fear each other and distrust the government, making America less safe and less democratic. Fortress America charts the rise of a muscular national culture, undercutting the common good. Instead of a thriving democracy of engaged citizens, we have become a paranoid, bunkered, militarized, and divided vigilante nation.
Subject(S) Crime -- United States -- History -- 21st century.
Violence -- United States -- History -- 21st century.
Public safety -- Social aspects -- United States -- History -- 21st century.
United States -- Social conditions -- 21st century.
United States -- Civilization -- 21st century.
ISBN 9780465055920 (hardcover)
0465055923 (hardcover)