Ministry of Truth
Posted on October 26, 2024 by Jack


Last month I reviewed a book called Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. The title says it all. Here is a brief quote from that review:

In Erasing History, Jason Stanley discusses how and why rewriting history is part of authoritarian and fascist governments method to gain power and eliminate democracy. This has happened in many counties around the world. So now I understand why they want us to believe their version of history and how they use it to enhance there power over the people.

The rewritten history was often something in the distant past. But in the Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past by Steve Benen, we see Donald Trump distorting the recent past and just making stuff up and almost all Republican politicians as well as the official party stance going along with it. And if polling is anywhere near accurate, this altered reality is either something the vast majority of Republicans actually believe or pretend to believe.

At first I thought of this book as reminder (with extensive references) of the ridiculous things said and apparently supported by the MAGA crowd. But now I think of it a demonstration of how rapidly a respectable
major political can shift from principles to idiocy.

You know how the past few years have felt like a very intense episode of The Twilight Zone? You *KNOW* what you've seen [Jan 6th], watched [all. the. trials. so far], and read [all the debunked lawsuits and voter-fraud claims], yet all of that is constantly [and consistantly] refuted by the former president, his minions, [and surprisingly and regretfully, the MSM because apparently DRAMA sells and makes formerly excellent journalists sellouts and makes the conspiracy-theory touters *king*] and you are left confused, disoriented [and if you are like me, extremely pissed off]. Thankfully, excellent books like this are being written [and bringing sanity back to the confusion] and we can learn how the breakdown of truth into lies is happening [sometimes in very real time] and how it is breaking down our very democracy [do not believe for ONE SECOND that the former president knows nothing about Project 2025] and threatens to topple it completely [VOTE!! VOTE!! VOTE!!].

This book shows how the GOP is trying to rewrite history, even as it is happening [and they very much want the parts of history they don't like or agree with to go far away], and what we, the ones fighting for truth, democraxy, and justice, can do to combat it and keep the truth alive.

If you choose to listen to the audiobook, it has excellent narration. Rachel Maddow is a fantastic narrator [and I hope she narrates more books]; she speaks in a clear and concise way and breaks down the book in that straightforward way of hers. She made a very difficult book much easier to digest.

This is a *MUST-READ* book and I highly recommend it. It is one of the MOST important book to read right now. For democracy. For all we have known and loved. For the truth. Always, for the truth.

Thank you to NetGalley, Steve Benen, and Mariner for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WARNING THIS IS NOT 1984, it just reads like a sequel. Working your way thru so many liies and attempts to reconcile what Donald Trump says and does and what for the rest of us is REALITY, this book can make you feel like Winston Smith (except there are no rats...well maybe Kellyann Conway).

At least for me, it's just psychicly painful to read how the Trump people have spent the last eight years trying to turn the Office of the Press Secretary into the Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda. It would be intesting to see if any of them have a club foot, which would make Joseph Goebbels happy.

More and more, in the last few years, the Repulicans and their Fellow Travelers have made the idea "don't believe your eyes and ears but listen to what we tell you" as their mantra for making America Great Again. It's like the people who encouraged Nixon to declare victory and leave Vietnam.

Unfortunately the only thing that Trump et al haven't done is give the people Roman games in a sports stadium.

Thank you, Mariner Books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I just finished Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past, by Steve Benen.

This is the second book that I’ve read by Benen, who is also the producer of the Rachel Maddow Show. I had previously given The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing And Seized American Politics an A.

The book shows how the Republicans have spent years rewriting the history of what has happened over the past few years. There are chapters on Russia, the 2020 election, January 6, the “perfect phone call” that led to Trump’s first impeachment, the border wall, COVID and the economy. If I had to pick a couple of chapters that were the best, I’d probably go with the 2020 election and January 6, but all of the chapters were strong.

I give this book an A. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

After I finished the book, I placed a preorder for the audio version, which will be narrated by Rachel Maddow. I am looking forward to listening to that, when it comes out, along with the printed and ebook versions on August 13.

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

I originally finished reading this on July 25, 2024.