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Reign of Terror

How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump

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Reign of Terror

Written by: Spencer Ackerman
Narrated by: Spencer Ackerman
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About this listen

 A New York Times Critics’ Top Book of 2021

"An impressive combination of diligence and verve, deploying Ackerman’s deep stores of knowledge as a national security journalist to full effect. The result is a narrative of the last 20 years that is upsetting, discerning and brilliantly argued." —The New York Times

"One of the most illuminating books to come out of the Trump era." —New York Magazine

An examination of the profound impact that the War on Terror had in pushing American politics and society in an authoritarian direction

For an entire generation, at home and abroad, the United States has waged an endless conflict known as the War on Terror. In addition to multiple ground wars, the era pioneered drone strikes and industrial-scale digital surveillance; weakened the rule of law through indefinite detentions; sanctioned torture; and manipulated the truth about it all. These conflicts have yielded neither peace nor victory, but they have transformed America. What began as the persecution of Muslims and immigrants has become a normalized feature of American politics and nationalsecurity, expanding the possibilities for applying similar or worse measures against other targets at home, as the summer of 2020 showed. A politically divided and economically destabilized country turned the War on Terror into a cultural—and then a tribal—struggle. It began on the ideological frontiers of the Republican Party before expanding to conquer the GOP, often with the acquiescence of the Democratic Party. Today’s nativist resurgence walked through a door opened by the 9/11 era. And that door remains open.

Reign of Terror shows how these developments created an opportunityfor American authoritarianism and gave rise to Donald Trump. It shows that Barack Obama squandered an opportunity to dismantle the War on Terror after killing Osama bin Laden. By the end of his tenure, the war had metastasized into a bitter, broader cultural struggle in search of a demagogue like Trump to lead it.

Reign of Terror is a pathbreaking and definitive union of journalism and intellectual history with the power to transform how America understands its national security policies and their catastrophic impact on civic life. 21st Century Americas Freedom & Security Modern Politics & Government United States War & Crisis War Iran Middle East Africa
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The content was excellent. I think it would have benefited tremendously from better narration. Ackerman's tone is pitched quite low, and he tends to mumble, swallow words, and not clearly enunciate syllables, especially at the end of phrases and sentences. Also, a few odd pronunciations like ‘he/jah/mah-nee’ (hegemony) rely on context to make immediate sense of.

Would have preferred a clearer narrator

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A really great run through of the last twenty years of all our lives. Ackerman's reading is clear, engaging and easy to understand — and he attempts a rusty, but charming, Donald Trump impression for quotes of the former president.

A must read for anyone interested in recent history and how we got to where we are. Ackerman leaves it open to what we can do to end the war, but I appreciate a book like this that doesn't end with solutions. Just the facts.

Thought provoking and engaging

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this is not a great book. it is okay and has a lot of ideas, but overall I was disappointed. Ackerman essentially presents that not a single good decision was made in the 20 years after 9/11. politicians and bureaucrats everyone made horrible decisions and were out to do the worst. and while things like CIA torture program and Iraq invasion deserve the harsh criticism, there is nothing but harshness here. I think he is using a bit too much hindsight and not understanding that decisionmakers had to make tough calls with limited information at the time. this feels as divisive as the actions he wants to call out.

a shotgun blast of criticism

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