Fantasyland

The post-truth era is not an inexplicable and crazy new phenomenon. On the contrary: what we are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg, writes Kurt Andersen in his eye-opening book Fantasyland. The inclination towards the magical and fantastical, according to the award-winning cultural journalist, is deeply embedded in the collective DNA of Americans. It originated when European settlers first set foot in the New World, bringing with them primarily one thing: a pronounced individualism and life dreams and fantasies of epic proportions. Andersen captivatingly and eloquently narrates the great American experiment – and why it spectacularly failed. Anyone who wants to understand how the boundary between reality and illusion could shift so dramatically and how a man like Donald Trump could make it to the White House must read this book.