Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History From the Puritans to Donald Trump
American history retold through charisma, from Puritan preachers to Trump, with technology mattering less than expected.
Molly Worthen traces the charismatic figure through American life: the preachers, prophets, generals and politicians who persuaded people to follow them, and what the crowds wanted in each period. Her argument is that the mechanism has been remarkably stable, and that mass media changed the reach of charisma rather more than it changed the thing itself.
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Tyler Cowen
Molly Worthen, Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History From the Puritans to Donald Trump is a very good book on an underexplored topic. In some ways tech has mattered less than you might think.
Source · February 2025
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