Understanding the Seemingly Incomprehensible.

• Author: Bader, Eleanor J.
• Position: The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War

Writer Jeff Sharlet describes the current political moment in the United States as "a season of falling apart" in his latest book, The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War.

This book is an up-close-and-personal look at the many predominantly white Americans who have been seduced by QAnon conspiracy theories, Trumpism, the heterosexual male movement of incels, or involuntary celibates, and an evangelism that equates material accumulation with proof of God's love. It is both harrowing and insightful.

The text is bookended by two deeply revelatory portraits of luminaries Harry Belafonte and Lee Hays, whose music and activism have inspired generations. Perhaps Sharlet included their examples to temper the disquiet that fills the rest of the book, reminding readers that the country has weathered periods of deep rightwing reaction before. Indeed, he reminds us that Red Scares, lynchings, police brutality, and attacks on free speech and civil rights are as much a part of U.S. history as social progress. Or, perhaps Sharlet is reminding us that the growing movement of rightwing conspirators will one day be relegated to history, pushed to a corner alongside Senator Joseph McCarthy, Anita Bryant, and Jesse Helms.

Either way, The Undertow delves into today's rightwing movement, and Sharlet writes not from an academic distance, but rather as a participant-observer at numerous conservative events and institutions. In some instances, Sharlet identifies himself as a reporter and a Jew. This bold and obviously risky choice gives the book gravitas, especially because he confesses that he has had several heart attacks and often runs on little to no sleep. That he is driven to understand people whose worldview is vastly different from his own is an understatement. Still, the drive to parse a political current that has led tens of thousands to prepare for an imminent civil war propels him to listen to their stories, probe their ideas, and dig into their beliefs.

A chapter called "Heavy with Gold," for example, takes readers into a rally during Donald Trump's 2016 bid for the presidency. Like others, Sharlet waited for hours to hear a speech he describes as a mix of anger, hate, love, fear, and vengeance. Like the hugely influential Norman Vincent Peale, whose 1952 bestseller, The Power of Positive Thinking, has been heralded by Trump, the candidate presented himself as a "businessman-redeemer," offering salvation and deliverance to his supporters. The...