The Midnight Kingdom

A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis

Jared Yates Sexton

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Hardback

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English

Dutton / Signet
07 March 2023

History

From the author of American Rule and the host of The Muckrake Podcast, an ambitious account of how white supremacist lies, religious mythologies, and poisonous conspiracy theories built the modern world and threaten to plunge us into an authoritarian nightmare.

To fully understand these strange and dangerous times, Jared Yates Sexton takes a hard look at our nation's history- namely, the abuses committed by those in power and the comforting stories that shaped the way the West has viewed itself up to the present. As reactionaries and authoritarians cling to myths about ""Western civilization,"" The Midnight Kingdom exposes how political power, religious indoctrination, and economic dominance have been repeatedly weaponized to oppress and exploit, sounding an alarm for what lies ahead as the current order frays.

Beginning with the Roman Empire and racing through centuries of colonization, war, genocide, and the recurring clashes of progress and regression, Sexton finds our modern world at a crossroads. In an echo of past crises, we have arrived at a time of historic inequality and a fading trust in our institutions. Meanwhile, authoritarianism is gaining momentum and the progress of the twentieth century is being rolled back at dizzying speed. This catastrophic moment holds terrible potential for a return to a totalitarian past or, potentially, a better, realer, more human future. The difference depends on a true reckoning with our history and the larger forces at play or hiding behind this disastrous fantasy of Western superiority.

Bracing and compulsively readable, The Midnight Kingdom takes a critical look at the forces that have shaped human civilization for centuries-and invites us to seek a radically different future.

By: Jared Yates Sexton
Imprint: Dutton / Signet
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 614g
ISBN: 9780593185230
ISBN 10: 0593185234
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 07 March 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jared Yates Sexton is the author of American Rule, The Man They Wanted Me to Be and The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore. His political writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The New Republic, Politico, and Salon.com. Sexton is also the host of the Muckrake podcast, the author of three collections of fiction, and an associate professor of creative writing at Georgia Southern University.

Reviews for The Midnight Kingdom: A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis

Praise for The Midnight Kingdom Jared Yates Sexton is indispensable to understanding our tumultuous political era. He does not shy away from America's dark history, but instead delves into the shadows in order to find the light. The Midnight Kingdom is yet another vital entry in his ongoing chronicle of a West in disarray and decline. -Sarah Kendzior, author of They Knew: How A Culture of Conspiracy Keeps America Complacent If power is built and sustained through storytelling-something Jared Yates Sexton argues decisively in this sweeping and empathetic history-then Sexton has proved himself a worthy adversary of those who would wish to pass off American mythology for reality. Digging deep into American stories, rife with half-truths and outright inventions, Sexton's incisive history not only offers a more accurate vision into our complex past-it just may be a first step toward a future no longer dominated by prejudice, paranoia, and fear. -Jess McHugh, author of Americanon A diffuse but sharp argument against the countless dangers of too much belief in the unproven and unseen. -Kirkus