In his efforts to describe the ‘special’ democratic traits of American society in the nineteenth century, French scholar Alexis de Tocqueville first alluded to the notion of American exceptionalism. However, it is Seymour Martin Lipset who popularised this term in the political and academic landscape. Mugambi Jouet’s Exceptional America: What Divides Americans from the World and from Each Other is the latest insight into American exceptionalism, describing how Americans are more divided on essential issues within their country than other Western countries. Jouet’s Exceptional America analyses the telltale contradictions in American society that partly explain what enabled a billionaire, Donald Trump, to become the President of the United States.

Jouet’s book has some amusing anecdotes, and he corroborates them with updated facts and figures. Prior to demonstrating how the rivalry between Christian fundamentalism and intellectualism has had far-reaching effects upon US society (Chapters Two and Three), Jouet tells the story of a young student at Rice University who had feigned interest in a history course to impress his professor for a good grade. The author finds himself awestruck by the resources offered and the racial equality, but appalled at the overall lack of hunger for knowledge that he witnesses in his peers. Jouet accredits this lackadaisical attitude to anti-intellectualism, which is the belief that intellect and reason are not nearly as important as action and emotion in solving real-world problems. Modern students think that the theories and perceived wisdom gained from attending an institute of higher learning are simply of no use in real life. This has led to a clear divide and disdain between many citizens and their more educated counterparts in America. This division plays a part in many aspects of society, as it did in the recent elections. This was apparent, for instance, when former president, Barack Obama, was accused of having a forged birth certificate as well as socialist viewpoints due to his proposed health insurance plans.

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