There is a lot of good information here, especially on the backgrounds of people whose names you might hear in the context of their current roles. The author does have a particular political POV, and can be a bit reductive at times, but if you can't distinguish the person from the information he presents, then maybe political books aren't for you. Also, this is part of a series, so some things that you'd think would be covered here, like the electoral college, are discussed in the Voting book instead. But all in all, the book provides many good reminders that the rich are and have always been in it for themselves, and corruption only gets worse if it goes unchecked.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley. I didn't love it, and I don't feel terribly hopeful now that I've read it, but I cannot say there's anything wrong with it.

It's educational and easy to read and understand. Hartmann goes back in time to demonstrate the various times the oligarchy of the United States attempted to trample over democracy. He explains in a way that I'd never before heard, the Confederacy was a group of oligarchs who compelled the poor southerners to fight for them to continue to make huge amounts of money, and he explains how the invention of the cotton gin was largely to blame for this. It was fascinating.

He also covers some important points that are not revelatory, but useful to have in one place. "Oligarchies find debt one of the easiest ways to control their citizens, particularly where there are laws that criminalize failure to pay." Of course, keeping people poorly educated is another tool of oligarchs. He demonstrates, with data, how the south has invested significantly less in public education and keeps more of its citizens in poverty.

But here was the part that I found most useful, in which Hartmann describes the process by which oligarchs take over a democracy and turn it to tyranny:

"Oligarchs fund media, lobbyists, and think tanks that seize the public dialogue while burrowing deeply in the popular media and academia. They use the power of that money to further weaken laws keeping money out of politics. They move from ownership of individual politicians to ownership of an entire political party. They use that party to seize control of government itself and then 'deconstruct the administrative state.' Without the state protecting the people, and with the state controlling elections in a way that widely disenfranchises the victims of the oligarchy, democracy becomes a sham exercise and a police state emerges to enforce the new economic and social order."

In a book like this, I don't think it's necessary to worry about spoilers so I will tell you what he suggests we do. "First, we challenge oligarchs and tyrants head-on through expanding the right to vote, the right to unionize, and the obligation of the very wealthy to pay reasonable taxes. Then we provide Americans with the life that citizens of every other advanced democracy already enjoy: free healthcare, free education, good public transportation, greening infrastructure, and a democratic government that responds to all of its citizens wants and needs."

Another thing that I found stunning was Hartmann's observation about the GOP logo. In 2000, they flipped the stars on their logo from the polar star to the pentagram. No one in the GOP has been willing or able to explain to him why this was done.

There were many references to other books from Mr. Hartmann, other “hidden histories” to learn more about subjects which he barely explored in this book—Supreme Court, guns, healthcare, voting rights, and monopolies. At times, I felt as if he were trying to sell me on the complete series, implying that I only had a small part of the knowledge necessary to understand the whole picture, and understanding everything is essential if I wish to take meaningful action. I’m sure those books are equally interesting, but the fact that there are so many of them is a bit overwhelming. I guess the biggest problem I had with this book, despite some very informative and enlightening history, is that the call to arms at the end, though not lackluster, is not exciting enough. I wanted to feel energized and motivated to do something, but instead, I feel a bit depressed and powerless.

THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN OLIGARCY is a timely and concise summary of the steps taken by the very wealthy to use their power to influence the US government.

The author, Thom Hartmann warns that we are at a cross roads - the Biden government can either try to dismantle these power structures or the entire US will fall into decline – the decline of an organism which has been set upon by a parasite which consumes it from within until there is nothing left to consume, then happily moves on to a new host.

It is an important book to read if we are to understand what is actually going on - how education, health care, justice, media are being manipulated to entrench the wealthy, gut the middle class and disenfranchise the poor.

These oligarchs were emboldened under Trump and we now have a small window of opportunity to push back to regain our democratic rights.

I would have given it 5 stars but there are a few leaps of faith to make in some of the logic. Also, referring to Singapore as a police state is a bit of an exaggeration.

Thanks to NetGallery for making this book available in exchange for an unbiased review.

So what we have here is the truth, free of the rhetoric of the Far Right and the Trumpkins. The biggest thing that the Right has created under Trump is the idea that the "Liberals" are BAD people and want to take away everyone's rights. So while Trump rails against the Dems wanting to take away their guns, Trump and his friends are taking away their civil rights. Why do they let this happen because they are busy watching the stage and NOT the man behind the curtain.

Whoever you are afraid of, the Oligarchs will ramp up your fear. What happened to the murders and rapists that Trump referred to when it came time to court the Hispanics of South Florida. It was easy, Trump just kept saying Cuba, Cuba, Cuba, while he was separating children from their parents at the American border. What about the children who the racist Border Patrol misplaced? They were never mentioned, he only talked about his Wall, little of which was built was new, and all of it paid for by the Citizens of the US. Forget the double speak about how Mexico ended up paying for it.

With control of the Justice Department under Trump and McConnell, hundreds of judges were placed on all levels of the Judicial System, who didn't care what the Constitution said, it only mattered what 'they' said it said. Trump, who probable never read the Constitution (he would probably think it was written by Socialists), thinks that being President is equivalent to being CEO of his Trump Empire. Whatever he says goes. How could he lose the election after all that he and his henchmen spent millions on to prevent the 'wrong' people from voting. Off with their Heads!

This is what has happened for the last ten years, as the Congress became and adjunct to McConnell and his rich friends. When Reagan became President, 40% of the federal budget was paid by the taxes of the rich, after the last tax cut it's down to 7%. We need to fight back before it's to late.