Review of "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right," by Jane Mayer

Review of

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, by Jane Mayer

ISBN 9780385535595

 Five out of five stars

 This is a book that will frighten all but a few regarding the future of the United States. It is first and foremost about greed, not the routine form about the acquiring of more money, but about the accumulation of political power. While many wealthy people have been a part of this movement, the return to the days of the robber barons has largely been a result of the machinations of Charles and David Koch.

 They have been ably assisted in their efforts by many Republican operatives that have aided them in redefining history and terms, many of of those operatives have suppressed what scruples they previously had. The right wing machine has successfully redefined the cause of the 2008 meltdown, successfully and falsely claiming that they are on the side of the “little guy” while they have been bleeding him and her dry.

 This success had been at least partially aided by some naiveté and incompetence on the part of the Democrats, some Democratic representatives that should have won their seats in the house were defeated and the Democrats foolishly thought that the Republicans would eventually seek common ground. There are right-wing efforts that have been successful in altering the way science is being done and there have been many efforts by right-wing groups to smear respected climate scientists and even rewrite textbooks to alter the science and history they contain.

 This book can either be considered a warning flag about the threat to American democracy or as one of the last forms of opposition to a movement that may yet take full control of the U. S. government. This is a fight where the outcome is as yet undetermined, but the fate of the nation is clearly at risk.