Just How Stupid Are We?（ Rick Shenkman）

Levees break in New Orleans. Iraq descends into chaos. The housing market teeters on the brink of collapse. Americans of all political stripes are heading into the 2008 election with the sense that something has gone terribly wrong with American politics. But what exactly? Democrats blame Republicans and Republicans blame Democrats. Greedy corporate executives, rogue journalists, faulty voting machines, irresponsible defense contractors-we blame them, too. The only thing everyone seems to agree on, in fact, is that the American people are entirely blameless. In Just How Stupid Are We?, best-selling historian and renowned myth-buster Rick Shenkman takes aim at the wisdom of the American people. The hard truth is that American democracy is more direct than ever —— but voters are misusing, abusing, and abdicating their political power. Americans are paying less and less attention to politics at a time when they need to pay much more: Television has dumbed politics down to the basest possible level, while the real workings of politics have become vastly more complicated. Shenkman offers concrete proposals for reforming the institutions——the government, the media, civic organizations, political parties ——to make them work better for the American people. But first, Shenkman argues, voters must reform themselves.
 
About the Author
 
Rick Shenkman is the editor and founder of the History News Network, the website that features articles by historians commenting on current events. He can regularly be seen on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. He is a New York Times best-selling author of seven history books, including "Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of American History" and "Presidential Ambition: How the Presidents Gained Power, Kept Power and Got Things Done" (HarperCollins, 1999).
 
His latest book is "Political Animals: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics" (Basic Books 2016). (It's listed on Amazon under "Rick Shenkman.") This book follows up his 2008 Amazon bestseller, "Just How Stupid Are We? Facing the Truth About the American Voter" (Basic Books).
Educated at Vassar and Harvard, Mr. Shenkman is an Emmy award-winning investigative reporter and the former managing editor of KIRO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Seattle. In 1997 he was the host, writer and producer of a prime time series for The Learning Channel inspired by his books on myths. He gives lectures at colleges around the country on several topics, including American myths and presidential politics.