AUDIENCE OF ONE Television, Donald Trump, and the Politics of Illusion

Narrator Matthew Josdal's delivery style--low-key, neutral, and occasionally skeptical--makes him the right voice for this fresh perspective on Donald Trump. The premise: Trump is a brand mascot, not much different than Mr. Clean or Colonel Sanders, who has "jumped off the cereal box" and into the White House. This triumph of brand over man has its roots in TV's populist history. There's Davy Crockett (a Mexican-hating, plain-talking American), the Beverly Hillbillies (nouveaux riches who thumb their noses at the elite), and CADDYSHACK's Rodney Dangerfield (a man with "sympathy for the overdog"). More recently, Trump, the brand mascot, capitalized on the fragmentation of viewership and the merger of 24-hour news with reality TV. Josdal's well-paced delivery and the author's McLuhanesque viewpoint make this mind-bending audiobook a standout. R.W.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2020]