{"title":"Charles P. Pierce","description":"Charles P. Pierce is a staff writer for the Boston Globe Magazine, a contributing writer for Esquire, and a frequent contributor to American Prospect and Slate. His work has also appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Nation, The Atlantic, and the Chicago Tribune, among other publications, and he is a regular on NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and Only a Game.","products":[{"product_id":"idiot-america-how-stupidity-became-a-virtue-in-the-land-of-the-free-paperback","title":"Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe three Great Premises of Idiot America: \u003cbr\u003e- Any theory is valid if it sells books, soaks up ratings, or otherwise moves units\u003cbr\u003e- Anything can be true if someone says it loudly enough\u003cbr\u003e- Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith his trademark wit and insight, veteran journalist Charles Pierce delivers a gut-wrenching, side-splitting lament about the glorification of ignorance in the United States. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePierce asks how a country founded on intellectual curiosity has somehow deteriorated into a nation of simpletons more apt to vote for an \u003ci\u003eAmerican Idol\u003c\/i\u003e contestant than a presidential candidate. But his thunderous denunciation is also a secret call to action, as he hopes that somehow, being intelligent will stop being a stigma, and that pinheads will once again be pitied, not celebrated. Erudite and razor-sharp, \u003ci\u003eIdiot America\u003c\/i\u003e is at once an invigorating history lesson, a cutting cultural critique, and a bullish appeal to our smarter selves.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51375576875231,"sku":"9780767926157","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/Nz0oFRjqfN9780767926157.webp?v=1789203773"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/charles-p-pierce.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}