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Beautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion, And Revolution

book cover: Beautiful Country Burn Again

Author Ben Fountain's, "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" won the National Book Critics Circle Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award. The book was then adapted for the screen by three-time Oscar winner, Ang Lee. 

The latest book from Ben Fountain is titled, "Beautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion, and Revolution". Fountain writes, "twice before in history the United States has been faced with a crisis so severe it was forced to reinvent itself to survive. First slavery, second the Great Depression and now where we are politically."

"Beautiful Country Burn Again" is a sequence of essays that excavate the past while laying bare the political upheavel of 2016.Fountain argues that the United States may be facing a third such crisis one that will require a burning of the old order as America attempts to remake itself. Joining us today is Ben Fountain.

Joe talks to people on the radio for a living. In addition to countless impressive human "gets" - he has talked to a lot of Muppets. Joe grew up in Philadelphia, has been on the area airwaves for more than 25 years and currently lives in Washington County, NY with his wife, Kelly, and their dog, Brady. And yes, he reads every single book.
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  • Ben Fountain's first novel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, was nominated for the 2012 National Book Award. He's well-read for 2013, so we thought we'd ask him what to look forward to in the book world.