The Rhetorical Invention of America's National Security State

Reviews / Votes

While a number of recent books have focused on the rhetorics and technologies of homeland security, few have so skillfully shown that the "national security state" is not just the work of politicians and intelligence agencies-it has also relied on the complicity of pundits, scientific experts, hackers, academics, military bureaucrats, and everyday citizens. This valuable book provides an insightful, blow-by-blow account of how the Global War on Terror has crept into the American homeland. -- Joshua Reeves, Oregon State University We live in an era of perpetual war and our culture's dominant structures of feeling reflect it: anxiety, melancholy, and resentment have won out over reason, logic, and basic compassion. The Rhetorical Invention of America's National SecurityState asks how we got here and how we can move forward by examining the rhetorical features of America's post 9-11 'national security state.' Hasian, Lawson, and McFarlane show us, convincingly, that the state that we've created can be challenged, modified, and recreated. -- Paul Achter, University of Richmond