Book Blog: The End of the Myth by Greg Grandin
Editor’s Note: our Book Blog feature on Can’t You Read, combines a shareable quote from, and a short review of, an important left wing or left-leaning work of nonfiction I’ve read and enjoyed enough to want to analyze and share.
All Fables End Eventually
Arguably the only real upside to the recent interruptions in my writing schedule, is that the paralysis involved gave me more time to pore over a number of books in my cherished library. Given my love of reading, and my longstanding commitment to helping readers find books worth reading, I thought I might continue that tradition of sharing today with another Book Blog review.
In this installment, we’re looking at site-favorite Greg Grandin’s mind-blowing study of American history through the lens of the frontier thesis; The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America. Far more than just a study of the border, immigration policy, or even American nativism as a whole, Grandin actually digs deep into the soul of American politics and finds capitalism, white supremacy, and the violent projection of internal contradictions on an outward “other.”
As you’ll see in this review, the End of the Myth isn’t just the best book about Trumpism; it’s the best book about the vision of America that caused Trumpism to rise in the first place.
“Where Grandin’s work really starts to get interesting however, is when he meticulously dissects the internal conflicts a settler colonial project of genocide and slavery created; conflicts that a romanticized vision of endless frontier expansion both rationalized, and reinforced. It is in this analysis that the author exposes the myth of freedom for those who can claim it on an endless frontier, as the skeleton key for understanding the increasingly critical flaws in Pig Empire society. After all, all wars, even an endless war based on the myth of infinite growth, have casualties, and the unrelenting legacy of violence, dehumanization, and ruthless exploitation of the eternal other have fundamentally altered American society in ways no idealized frontier could ever heal. In a wholly disturbing way then, the very existence of marginalized nonwhites inside “the nation” becomes a taunting reminder of a faltering white supremacist legacy the Pig Empire has never made any attempts to reconcile with, let alone end.”
To check it out on my Can’t You Read blog, click on the header or the image below:
Terminal Point on Can’t You Read
- nina illingworth
Independent writer, critic and analyst with a left focus. Please help me fight corporate censorship by sharing my articles with your friends online!
You can find my work at ninaillingworth.com, Can’t You Read, Media Madness and my Patreon Blog
Updates available on Instagram, Mastodon and Facebook. Podcast at “No Fugazi” on Soundcloud.
Inquiries and requests to speak to the manager @ASNinaWrites
Chat with fellow readers online at Anarcho Nina Writes on Discord!
“It’s ok Willie; swing heil, swing heil…”
