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I am looking for a high-quality book summary of the book "A Colony in a Nation" by Chris Hayes. What's the best summary available? I'm looking for something that summarizes each chapter in order. 10 pages would be ideal, but 5 (or even less) to 20 pages could work. To be clear, I don't want any analysis or opinion... just a summary. Also, I am not looking for the researcher to write the summary... rather, find me the best summary or summaries out there. Finally, I'd be willing to consider book summaries that are not free, i.e. I need to pay to read them, if you have reason to believe that the summary is of high quality.
Hello! Thanks for asking Wonder for a high-quality summary of the book "A Colony in a Nation" by Chris Hayes. The most useful sources we found to respond to your request were Salon and The Washington Post.
In short, we have provided you with a short synopsis of "A Colony in a Nation" by Chris Hayes, as well as a list of the highest-quality book summaries available from our research. Below you will find an outline of our methodology and a deep dive of our findings.
METHODOLOGY
We honed our research by reading through summaries from esteemed literary critics, trusted media sites, and credible book sellers. After thorough investigation, we were not able to locate a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the book. In explanation, the author confesses that the book is not organized in traditional chapter format and the writing is "less systematic" than his previous book, "Twilight of the Elites". By his own admission, the nonfiction piece is designed to "produce some set of meditations and introspection in the reader as opposed to some programmatic sense".
"A COLONY IN A NATION": A BRIEF SUMMARY
Published in March 2017, this 256-page social and political commentary is described on Amazon.com as "an essential book—searing and insightful—that will reframe our thinking about law and order in the years to come."
On the author's website, the book is beautifully encapsulated in a few sentences: "Hayes contends our country has fractured in two: the Colony and the Nation. In the Nation, we venerate the law. In the Colony, we obsess over order; fear trumps civil rights; and aggressive policing resembles occupation. How and why did Americans build a system where conditions in Ferguson and West Baltimore mirror those that sparked the American Revolution?
Blending wide-ranging historical research with political, social, and economic analysis, 'A Colony in a Nation' explains how a Nation founded on justice constructed the Colony—and how it threatens our democracy."
W. W. Norton & Company Inc paints a picture of the sociopolitical context in which this book is set: "A Colony in a Nation examines the surge in crime that began in the 1960s and peaked in the 1990s, and the unprecedented decline that followed. Drawing on close-hand reporting at flashpoints of racial conflict, as well as deeply personal experiences with policing, Hayes explores cultural touchstones, from the influential 'broken windows' theory to the 'squeegee men' of late-1980s Manhattan, to show how fear causes us to make dangerous and unfortunate choices, both in our society and at the personal level. With great empathy, he seeks to understand the challenges of policing communities haunted by the omnipresent threat of guns. Most important, he shows that a more democratic and sympathetic justice system already exists—in a place we least suspect."
While this excerpt from Kirkus is somewhat of a summary-review hybrid, it is a remarkably candid recap of Hayes' take on racial tension: "Profound contrasts in policing and incarceration reveal disparate Americas. MSNBC host and editor at large of the Nation, Hayes (Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy, 2013, etc.) expands the investigation of inequality begun in his previous book by focusing on law and order. Offering a persuasive analysis, he distinguishes between the Nation, inhabited by the 'affluent, white, elite,' and the Colony, largely urban, poor, 'overwhelmingly black and brown' but increasingly including working-class whites".
"A COLONY IN A NATION": IN-DEPTH SUMMARIES
As previously stated, our research did not turn up any chapter-by-chapter summaries, so we incorporated synopses from reputable news-driven media sources and in-depth commentaries from the author himself. While we had to be a bit creative with our sourcing, we feel that the below summaries will provide you with a detail-rich landscape of Hayes' book.
This article from The Washington Post was published in March 2017 and is a rich, well-informed summary of Hayes' book. "In his new book, Chris Hayes examines the powerless American underclass under violent, internal government rule."
This summary was published in US current affairs magazine, Vanity Fair, in March 2017. In this article, Hayes personally "examines the system that drives police killings—and its consequences for everyone", as detailed in his book.
This summary from literary editorial hub, Shelf Awareness, includes a brief yet comprehensive synopsis of the book and an interview transcript with Hayes ("Chris Hayes: The Political Equivalent of Enriched Uranium").
This interview transcript from literary authority, Signature, is a granular dive into the backstory behind Hayes' book and a conversational handling of the major themes.
"A COLONY IN A NATION": FURTHER RESEARCH
In case you are interested in sampling the book, we have included this excerpt taken directly from Part 1 of "A Colony in a Nation".
We also stumbled upon a riveting video interview between MSNBC's Rachael Maddow and Chris Hayes discussing the topic of "political potency of fear and the promise of order" found in his book. If you have a spare 7 minutes, we encourage you to take a look!
CONCLUSION
To sum up, we have provided you with a short synopsis of "A Colony in a Nation" by Chris Hayes, as well as a list of the highest-quality book summaries available from our research. We hope this deep dive into Hayes' book is as enlightening for you to read as it was for us to research! As always, thank you for reaching out to Wonder. We look forward to hearing from you again soon!