Review of Carlos Lozada’s Book

Review of What Were We Thinking by Carlos Lozada

I have been puzzling over what to make of the Trump years, trying to make sense of what went on in his mind, the minds of his followers and my own mind as well as others who were horrified by the developments being discussed. I thought I was coming to an understanding but then along a new twist. I felt like I was trying to keep up with a whirling dervish without becoming dizzy myself.

Every time I thought I was close to making sense of what was happening, Trump shifted to a new whim. Many people have tried to make sense of this era. This book lists over one hundred and forty books on a range of Trump era topics. I find it hard to review a book of reviews, harder than I thought it would be. I found that it took some work to discover the themes of each chapter and did not find the chapter headings very helpful.

Here is the list of topics covered in the various chapters:

1. Explanation of how Trump won the presidency.
2. Reactions to the Trump election.
3. Trump has remained consistent but the Republican party shifted to support him.
4. Implications of the wall and the border policy.
5. We are leaning toward becoming an empire with a belief in a separate reality emerging.
6. ‘What have you got to lose?” When people are dismissed, reduced and undifferentiated, what they stand to lose is their individual identity.
7. Trump’s fantasies about himself and desperate women.
8. Fantasies of revenge against perceived enemies.
9. Attempts to explain the interaction between Trump and Russia.
10. Trump is not the only siren of the impending death of democracy.

In each chapter, the author explains the goal and theme of each book discussed and the degree of accuracy and usefulness of each book. The last chapter consists of a list of twelve books the author considers most relevant and useful in understanding these years.

There was not much new in the list, but it was useful to see attempts to understand these years listed and contrasted. It was almost like a dialogue among the various authors. I did not realize that there had been so much written about these years.

I started this book wondering how much I could stand to revisit. However I stuck with it for the first two thirds of the book. Then January 6 arrived and I felt like I was slogging through quicksand the rest of the way. I did manage to finish the book but not happily. I found each page more depressing than the last one.

I was glad that the author concluded with the twelve books he found most useful. I see the book as a good reference library for anyone who wants to dig deeper into an understanding of what we have just been through. Personally, the stink of these years is more than I am ready to revisit, at least right now. I am glad this time has been fully documented and that we remember what happened so we can avoid ever repeating it.