Listen free for 30 days

  • Dismantling America

  • Written by: Thomas Sowell
  • Narrated by: Robertson Dean
  • Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (74 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Dismantling America cover art

Dismantling America

Written by: Thomas Sowell
Narrated by: Robertson Dean
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.28

Buy Now for $26.28

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

These wide-ranging essays - on many individual political, economic, cultural, and legal issues - have as a recurring, underlying theme the decline of the values and institutions that have sustained and advanced American society for more than two centuries. This decline has been more than erosion. It has, in many cases, been a deliberate dismantling of American values and institutions by people convinced that their superior wisdom and virtue must override both the traditions of the country and the will of the people.

Whether these essays (originally published as syndicated newspaper columns) are individually about financial bailouts, illegal immigrants, gay marriage, national security, or the Duke University rape case, the underlying concern is about what these very different kinds of things say about the general direction of American society.

This larger and longer-lasting question is whether the particular issues discussed reflect a degeneration or dismantling of the America that we once knew and expected to pass on to our children and grandchildren. There are people determined that this country’s values, history, laws, traditions, and role in the world are fundamentally wrong and must be changed. Such people will not stop dismantling America unless they get stopped—and the next election may be the last time to stop them, before they take the country beyond the point of no return.

©2010 Thomas Sowell (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What the critics say

“For anyone looking for a straightforward and honest discussion of the origins of our current crisis, informed by a deep understanding of both economics and politics.” ( Washington Times)

What listeners say about Dismantling America

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    63
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    57
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    53
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Old book but still relevant

It’s like he had a crystal ball! I’d forgotten about many of the happenings discussed in this book, but many of them are reasons for the terrible decline of the west that we’re living in today.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent book

I really enjoyed listening to this book. It was very informative and used critical thinking in discussing what is wrong with the American political system.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing compared to his other work

After being awestruck by Dr. Sowell’s almost encyclopedic knowledge and inherent sense of balance in Migrations and Cultures, in which he manages to address both the historical and in-cultural aspects underpinning the successes and failures of various self-identified groups over the centuries, I was deeply disappointed by the lack of depth and even-handedness evident in large sections of this book. For example, universal healthcare is disparaged for its risks and weaknesses (which is fair) without ever addressing any of its strengths. What we really need to hear, on this and most issues, are ideas on how to achieve the best balance between the two extreme positions.
Gun control is discussed (and largely dismissed) without any reference to the types of guns in question, or any serious analysis of how to address the hellacious frequency of mass shootings in the United States.
Although the fundamental principles of economics are most definitely well understood by the author, long-term environmental costs (which have already led to calamities like the collapse of commercial fisheries, the deterioration of soils over time, the draining of aquifers etc.) are to be rarely if ever entered into the cost benefit equation. In the same vein, the author demonstrates little understanding of the physics of climate change. On this risk to the very ecosystem that sustains us, the depth of critique extends only to cherry picking some of the missteps of the messengers.
The ever-present threat of the demagogue is shrewdly recognized. But, out of convenience or laziness, the author is content to put broad swaths of the populace into convenient groupthink boxes such as “liberals” and “intellectuals”: a favorite divide and conquer tool of the demagogues he is warning against. In short, too much is cast in black and white, where shades of grey are needed.
Perhaps the challenge presented to the author re this book, in comparison to Migrations and Cultures, comes from its being composed of opinion pieces written on a short time-fuse and for a select audience. And, in this, it might be an anomaly in an otherwise stellar catalogue. So I do intend to read more of Dr. Sowell’s books, as the other work I’ve seen to this point is profound, honest, and beautifully written.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding work!

This work should be MANDATORY to become an adult.
An education would not be complete or useful without proper digestion and analysis of this material.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sowell uses the facts to frame his conclusions

The facts frame his conculsions without fail. Nothing he says can be refuted regardless of the power of the propaganda and numbers on the Left. We needed Biden's administration to contrast Sowell's conclusions. Now only fools or the deliberately evil will stand against him and the growing numbers who stand with him.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Dated but still timely

The process of dismantling has progressed much further since this book was written. The examples help clarify things happening now.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Collection of Sowell Column

Overall, pretty good. My biggest gripe with the book is Sowell is top of his game when he stays in his lane (economics/social debunker) but when he roams I feel his politics get in the way. But generally that's my gripe with anyone who does thinking for a living. it's a collection of essays written over time and are uneven in profound-ness. I may not agree with everything written here, he is still one of the best social naysayers and when he does leave the game everyone, Democrats and Republicans will lose a great voice of opposition.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sowell is a genius. well written and performed.

Thomas Sowell is a genius. This is the first title I've heard from him and I will be looking to the next one right away. He provides reasoning for so many of my standpoint and also enlightens the reasoning behind viewpoints from the other side of the spectrum.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This is a must read

Fantastic book that hits the truth home. This is a must read book that will let one look into the reality of what is happening to our society.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

And Other Controversial Essays

Definitely much more controversial than most of his other work, not personally recommended for first time readers of Sowell.

Still excellent material if you’re looking for something to challenge your thinking, and Robertson Dean is perhaps the best narrator for this author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!