American Monsters

By: Adam Jortner, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Adam Jortner

Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Cackling witches in Puritan communities calling forth Satan. Sea serpents squirming along coasts to snack on bathers. Ape creatures slinking through forests and leaving behind mysterious footprints.

In America, tall tales of monsters walking among us have existed for hundreds of years. Real or fictional, human or inhuman, monsters and other terrors directly reflect the events within American culture. As a society changes, its anxiety changes - and its monsters change as well. Thus, any confrontation with America’s monsters is, in truth, a confrontation with the history of fear in America.

Grab a flashlight and go monster-hunting in the safe company of Adam Jortner, award-winning professor of religion at Auburn University, with the 10 eerie and illuminating episodes of American Monsters. You’ll encounter chilling tales of living houses, sentient plants, psychotic toys, brain-eating zombies, and otherworldly beings whose mere name is enough to drive people insane. Along the way, you’ll learn how monster stories change how Americans think and what Americans do, how they shape the history of our country, and what secrets about human nature these inhuman monsters can share.

American monsters are mythical, but in many ways monster stories are frighteningly real. The most terrifying thing about them: what they reveal about the monsters within us.

©2021 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Less Is More Sometimes

Overall it was good, and I enjoyed the narrator's voice, but it focused too much on race at times.

A good read

Interesting material and great narration. Highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a deep dive into all things monstrous.

Excellent analysis!

Really insightful and enjoyable; sometimes these kinds of things make me roll my eyes, they can feel like they’re trying too hard or reaching for something that isn’t there, but this was GREAT. Reasonable, well-thought-out, spot-on. I loved it.

A great look at the shifting gears of the United States

This was a terrific series of lectures on what has captured and perturbed the American psyche; and how we have created monsters as a “safety value” to deal with uncomfortable topics. I found the pacing, narration, and information to be spot on. I highly recommend everyone listen to it.

Perfect for Horror Fans and Analytical Minds

Absolutely loved this. A great commentary on American monsters from the very founding of the first colonies up to present day movies. What do they mean and what can our fears reveal about our society.

Nice easy evaluation of the concept of monsters

I find the negative reviews surprising. This course in monsters is a pretty typical dime a dozen analysis of its topic. But to see so many snowflake audible reviews get triggered over the idea that King Kong has racist undertones or that early filmmaking presented only negative views of black people - ideas that are so universally accepted as true that I can’t believe someone hearing it today gets so triggered into a phony hurt ego panic. No one gets triggered when the thing and invasion of the body snatchers are explained as Cold War metaphors - which again are common and dime a dozen observations. Perhaps debunking monster conspiracy theories is not what fragile Americans want to hear or accept.

Every chapter gave me something new to think about

I absolutely loved this book! every chapter gave me something new to think about and also I felt I learned something about history and each of the chapters at no point was I ever bored. If you love scary stories, monsters, or even learning about history this one's for you.

Fascinating though not exactly as expected

Enjoyable and interesting, I don't regret the purchase. In particular, I learned quite a bit about spiritism in both origin and the movement around it. I didn't expect quite as much historical speculation. In knowing a few of the books and movies discussed, I'm not sure that some of the double meanings apply. As a historian he may be putting too much depth in some places in which people were just trying to tell spooky stories. I would have liked to have seen a sub title of "Through the eyes of a historian" or something like that.

I felt as though there was a bit too much focus on race but some of that may be because I was looking for more of an escapist book at the moment. In other words, race and politics seem to come into almost everything (or it seems like it) these days and sometimes I look for things to get away from the news or issues of the day. Still, I give Prof Jortner credit because he is a very entertaining reader. He kept things from getting too heavy due to his humor and tonality. Overall I recommend it. It's very interesting and I learned quite a bit.

Good, however...

This was not what I was expecting. However, it was entertaining and informative, and I still enjoyed it.

Great Overview of the History of Horror in the U.S

If you enjoy a good horror story, this book will teach you a lot about where those images come from in America, and how they have been cultivated over the history of the nation. It’s a very quick but fascinating read. In addition to looking at the historical roots of things like spirits and witches, Jortner also spends a great deal of time looking at how movies, televisions, and novels have shaped the images. The popularity of monsters, and the way that those monster stories are told, has a lot to do with the stresses, fears, and problems of American society. Therefore, it should not be surprising that racism and civil rights are often underlying themes of the monster tale. Another fascinating theme is whether or not we can really govern ourselves when the people in charge in the stories often show themselves to be idiots. American isolationism, the Cold War, the proper role of science in our society… all of these themes pop up again and again as do stories about what happens when teens or women start to get a little independence in our dangerous world. Each section fascinated me and my only complaint is that the book wasn’t longer.