The Savage Nation
Michael Savage, 2003
★ 3.45 from 747 ratings on Goodreads
Politics & society Memoir & biography
A combative 2003 talk-radio polemic on borders, language, and culture — a raw document of the anger that shaped a media era. A defiant, dramatic monologue that moves in bursts of grievance, humor, and blunt conviction, often circling back on itself.
Feels like defiance, grief and passion. About power, identity and death.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you want a raw, combative talk-radio voice and don't mind political argument mixed with personal testimony. Be warned that readers are sharply split, and even fans call it extreme, repetitive, and an acquired taste, with undocumented claims throughout.
Why read it
It preserves the anger and rhetoric of a media moment, useful if you want to understand how that voice worked rather than agree with it.
A page from the book
Sanity, by one host’s measure, is a wagon hitched to a thousand horses.
When you follow the straight and narrow, I tell you truth, it’s the greatest high there is... When you have a mind that takes you in a thousand directions every minute. Where do you think Shakespeare got all of his characters from? ... Sanity – is to bridle all those horses and hitch them to one wagon, and then you lead those horses; you don’t let them pull you in every direction. And that’s why you shouldn’t use marijuana... Marijuana was the most destructive element in my life... Marijuana is the most dangerous of all drugs. Having said that, maybe there are some medical conditions where one of the active principles... marinol or others, could be used to alleviate pain – good, get the medication... And the reason society is pushing you into getting high is to make certain that you don’t know what the politicians are doing to you... What readers say
Readers are sharply split: many find the book an angry, undocumented rant that is repetitive and off-putting, while others enjoy its humor, bluntness, and provocative political arguments. Even fans often call it extreme or an acquired taste.
Michael Savage.Michael Savage was born Michael Alan Weiner and earned a PhD in nutritional ethnomedicine before becoming a talk-radio host.
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Questions readers ask
- Is The Savage Nation for me?
- You may like it if you want a raw, combative talk-radio voice and don't mind political argument mixed with personal testimony. Be warned that readers are sharply split, and even fans call it extreme, repetitive, and an acquired taste, with undocumented claims throughout.
- What is The Savage Nation like?
- A defiant, dramatic monologue that moves in bursts of grievance, humor, and blunt conviction, often circling back on itself. Feels like defiance, grief and passion. About power, identity and death.
- What should I read after The Savage Nation?
- If you liked The Savage Nation, try The O'Reilly Factor (Bill O'Reilly), America (Jon Stewart) and The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels).
A taste of the feed
Who benefits when a country pretends it has no classes?
Politicians don’t usually talk about class. It might open a dangerous door. Advertisers want us to believe we’re all one class: the consuming class, equal as long as we keep spending. The rich want us to believe that anyone can make the quantum leap from bowling league to country club by just working a little harder. That’s supposed to keep us motivated and quiet.
The O'Reilly Factor · Bill O'Reilly
How do you write a founding document when someone keeps talking about his anatomy?
But on what basis should the three branches of government be divided? It came down to two dueling ideas: Madison’s proposal of an executive, judicial and legislative branch, and Georgia’s Joseph Morton’s proposal to dole out power according to, “The presence, forbearance, rectictude and largeosity of one’s ‘Plums and Carrot’.” After much deliberation, it was decided Madison’s proposal would be accepted, Morton only relenting after the Constitutional Convention agreed to proclaim him “impressive.”
America · Jon Stewart
What if the categories we treat as natural were the last thing to arrive?
The host read these words for the audience, and when she finished she turned to the subject of my body, although she did not mention it specifically. But by now I am accustomed to intelligent people asking about the condition of my body without realizing the nature of their request. Specifically, the host wished to know why I felt that white America’s progress, or rather the progress of those Americans who believe that they are white, was built on looting and violence. Hearing this, I felt an old and indistinct sadness well up in me. The answer to this question is the record of the believers themselves. The answer is American history.
Between the World and Me · Ta-Nehisi Coates
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