Illinois Authors

Eyewear Publishing Ltd 2017

Literary Nonfiction. African & African American Studies. History & Politics. BARACK OBAMA: INVISIBLE MAN is a provocative examination of President Barack Obama and his legacy. Masciotra contends that most Americans, frightened over the loss of white authority, were unable to deal with the historical, racial, and political implications of electing the first black president. The right distorted Obama into a monster, while many on the left set him up to fail with unrealistic expectations. The man who emerges from the ashes of caricature is not only an accomplished—if flawed—president, but a cultural figure of profound importance who challenged America's increasingly anti- intellectual anxiety with a stirring and subversive message of hope.

Melville House 2024

Beyond a fanatical devotion to former president Donald Trump, one of the curious things that united the rank and file of the January 6 insurrectionist mob was that many of them were residents of one of America’s fastest growing residential areas: Exurbia. Home to the likes of Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ohio’s Jim Jordan, big box retailers, chain restaurants, monster trucks, and megachurches, exurbia is becoming America’s greatest political battleground, more important to American politics than urban or rural America. In this brilliant work of political and cultural inquiry, veteran political journalist David Masciotra provides a definitive account of what exurbia is, how it came to be, and how it's transforming American life. Zooming in outside the greater metropolitan area of Chicago—where Masciotra grew up—he shows how exurbia has become a safe space to fly the MAGA flag and romanticize the mores of the pre-civil rights, pre-feminist, pre-gay rights 1950s. But, as Masciotra also shows, reactionary white flight is not the whole story of small-town America. The story often lost is the power and persistence of small-town liberals—people who believe in equality, celebrate diversity, and enroll in movements for justice. Exurbia, as it turns out, is ground zero for the fight over a democracy mightily beleaguered, yet still full of promise, and still worth fighting for. Combining interviews, research, and anecdote—and anchored in personal experience—Exurbia Now delivers a powerful ballad on the state of small-town America, and provides a sense of the fight for democracy, on the ground, in the heartland.

I.B. Tauris 2020

There are few figures and leaders of recent American history of greater social and political consequence than Jesse Jackson, and few more relevant for America's current political climate. In the 1960s, Jackson served as a close aide to Dr. Martin Luther King, meeting him on the notorious march to legitimate the American democratic system in Selma. He was there on the day of King's assassination, and continued his political legacy, inspiring a generation of black and Latino politicians and activists, founding the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and helping to make the Democratic Party more multicultural and progressive with his historic runs for the presidency in the 1980s. In I Am Somebody, David Masciotra argues that Jackson's legacy must be rehabilitated in the history of American politics. Masciotra has had personal access to Jackson for several years, conducting over 100 interviews with the man himself, as well as interviews with a wide variety of elected officials and activists who Jackson has inspired and influenced. It also takes readers inside Jackson's negotiations for the release of hostages and political prisoners in Cuba, Iraq, and several other countries. As Democratic politics sees a return to radicalism and the rise of a new generation of committed advocates of racial and economic justice, I Am Somebody: Why Jesse Jackson Matters is a critical book for understanding where America in the 21st Century has come from and where it is going.

University Press of Kentucky 2015

John Mellencamp's numerous hits, awards, and recognitions―including his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame―puts him in such celebrated company as Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan. In Mellencamp, David Masciotra explores the life and career of this important talent, persuasively arguing for his space among the most distinguished songwriters of our time. Beginning with Mellencamp's modest start in Seymour, Indiana, Masciotra details the artist's road to fame, examines his struggles with the music industry, and celebrates the success he found by remaining true to his midwestern roots. With themes that range from small-town life, race, and religion to poverty and the struggles of adulthood, Mellencamp's songs remain central to the social and historical context of contemporary America. Acting as an artistic archivist, he has refused to forget the struggles of workers and Black Americans, and in line with his tributes to 1960s rock and Americana folk, he has summoned his sizable talent and his tenacious heart to tell a story his audience and country need to hear. From a cultural critic whose work has also appeared in the Washington Post, Atlantic, and Los Angeles Review of Books, this thoughtful analysis highlights four decades of the artist's music, showing how it has consistently elevated the dignity of everyday people, and spanned the genres of folk, soul, and rock and roll to amplify the struggle of democracy.

Bloomsbury Academic 2015

In 1991, Metallica released their fifth studio album that would become known and beloved around the world as “The Black Album.” Since its release, it has sold 30 million copies, and become a towering monument in the pantheon of rock's greatest records. Readers will get unprecedented insight into the story behind an iconic album from one of the world's most iconic bands through interviews with James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Jason Newsted, and “Black Album” producer Bob Rock. Masciotra takes readers into the recording studio, giving them Metallica's account of how their most successful and famous record was born and learned to walk into every radio station and stadium stage around the world. Masciotra not only talks to the band about the making of the album, but also the stories that inspired the songs. Readers will not only learn about “The Black Album,” but they will also gain greater knowledge and familiarity with the men who created it. With direct access to the band, Masciotra offers a fascinating and inspiring account of the creation of one of music's best and best-selling albums.

Continuum New York : 2010

For almost four decades, Bruce Springsteen's music has directly inspired, influenced, and uplifted millions of devoted fans, who hold a special place in their hearts and minds for his work. Springsteen's rise to the top of American music coincided with the triumph of American conservatism, and the veneration of marketplace values above democratic principles and humanistic priorities. Springsteen has consistently summoned his creative power and artistic vision to indict these political developments and demand the cultivation of a more compassionate and progressive society. And yet his often harsh critique of the status quo and radical ideas for reform have either been ignored or misunderstood, as a result of his "All American" image and his narrative storytelling style. On nearly every major issue-poverty, racism, urban decay, war, and peace- Springsteen's music has offered a unique vision for moving forward with the agenda of creating the "country we carry in our hearts"-as he called it in an op-ed for the New York Times. Filled with provocative analysis of Springsteen's best known hits and his most obscure songs, comparisons to other important works of American culture-ranging from The Sopranos to Edward Hopper-and a wealth of information about the last fifty years of American politics, culture, and society, Working On a Dream is a powerful and engaging study of this songwriter and performer's art. David Masciotra shows how Springsteen's music darkly comments on the increased isolation of Americans, and calls for a return to community living and values, based on compassion, empathy, and tolerance. He illustrates how Springsteen has forced listeners to wrestle with the facts of rising poverty rates in the world's richest nation, of wars with questionable justification, and of the continued mistreatment of racial minorities, arguing that Springsteen does this by emphasizing the suffering that everyday people - usually ignored in mainline political discussions - endure on a daily basis. By using Springsteen's life and music to shine a light on the dark recesses of America's most important political and social trials and conflicts- race, religion, and working class hardship-Working on a Dream connects readers with the power, purpose, and promise of Springsteen's extraordinary and enduring music.