Loved it. Inspired, pragmatic. ( )

I read James Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me in 1995 and still consider it one of the most infuriating books I've ever read - because it completely disrupted what I thought I knew about history. I can use that same word (infuriating) to describe this book. I already knew most of this,, but Faircloth pulls it all together into one short volume. One short, yet utterly outrageous, teeth-grinding, damning indictment of the scariest trend in modern history.

Faircloth does a pretty good job of presenting his points. He repeats some of the stories, but I think just to reinforce the message. My one complaint is that he doesn't cite any of his quotes. He "awards" 50 of the most egregious legislators (all but three from one party...care to guess which one?) for their actions and statements, a few pretty heinous statements...but no sources. Frustrating that I'll have to track them down myself.

Another book that the people who need to read it won't, and the people who really need to read it will try to burn. ( )

I consider myself to be a secular Jew, and I agree with Faircloth's assertion that theocrats have way too much clout in the American political system. From the gay marriage "debate" (which the "major" argument is that the "sanctity" of heterosexual marriage needs to be protected from us evil gays, even though over half of those hallowed marriages end in divorce) to abortion (why are we still arguing about this in America?!?), fundamentalists try to cast their views as the "moral" ones (and, therefore, those with different views are "immoral" by default).

Faircloth starts out well enough, demonstrating just how fundamentalists affect us all. But then he kind of gets bogged down, and the book just doesn't flow well. Also, it really felt like he was trying to browbeat "secular America" into caring about certain issues, when, in reality, many "secular Americans" already DO care about those issues. Also, I realize that Faircloth works for the Richard Dawkins Foundation, and I do think that Richard Dawkins is an intelligent man (though with a tendency towards extreme arrogance), but after a while, it just felt like Faircloth was plugging Dawkins and his foundation. At times, the book felt like an infomercial.

I listened to the audiobook version, and I have two comments about that specifically. First, I really think that Sean Faircloth should have gone with a professional narrator. He isn't bad, but he sounds like a politician, and there's only so much I could listen to before needing to take a break. Second, the audiobook version varies slightly from the book (usually with added information). While reading along while listening to the audiobook version, this was rather jarring. ( )

Sort of an OK book about the current state of the separation between church and state. The author speaks from a position of authority as a former Maine legislator, and as an employee of the Secular Coalition of America, but for the most part, it's really not anything that hasn't been said better by someone else. He gets a bit preachy at times, which is annoying because he's preaching a particular political organizational strategy at people who are already using it, in many cases. He sets up a straw man of secular America, and scolds this straw man for not participating in the causes he thinks are more important than the "trivial" ones he perceives them obsessing on; the problem is, these causes he's determined to make us care about are causes that secular America is already deeply committed to, and is working on daily. No, not every secular group is working on every good cause; the groups split up the work a bit, but we support each other and many of these causes are actually big deals, a fact he could have discovered easily by reading one newsletter or one blog for more than a cursory examination. This presents an overall picture of poor research, and that is never a good position for a non-fiction author to be in. Overall, it wasn't a particularly satisfying work. ( )

A must read for any voting American. Not eloquent prose - just important perspectives on where our country has (and continues to) slip. ( )