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Why Intolerance and Extremism Happen: Understanding our Deepest Divides
To bridge our deepest divides, we must first understand them.
“This is a book for any common-sense person who has looked around at the political division and outrage-fueled information environment and said, ‘What the hell is going on?’ or ‘How did we get here?’”
—Dannagal Young, Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Delaware
“Kanefield synthesizes insights from prominent scholars across different academic fields to give us a deeper understanding of how we got here. A brilliant book that everyone should read.”
—Peter Arenella, UCLA Law Professor Emeritus
“Kanefield brings her extraordinary intellect and insight to bear on the question of how humans might live in peace with one another. Combining this with her superpower of conveying, clearly and simply, very complex ideas, Kanefield has produced a concise but masterful guide to why things have gone awry in this era of polarization—and how we might find our way back. I could not recommend it more highly.”
—Karen Stenner, political and behavioral scientist and author of The Authoritarian Dynamic
* * *
Teri Kanefield’s books have won numerous awards and distinctions, including the Jane Addams Book Award and the Carter G. Woodson Middle-Level Book Award. Most recently, Rebels, Robbers, and The Story of the Bill of Rights was named an Orbis Pictus Honor Book. A Firehose of The Story of Disinformation was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the Best New Comics for Adults. Three of her books have been named Junior Library Guild selections. Rebels, Robbers, and The Story of the Bill of Rights was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her books have earned numerous starred reviews.
She has written legal commentary for The Washington Post, NBC, CNN, and other mainstream outlets. Her short stories and essays have appeared in publications as diverse as Education Week, The Iowa Review, Cricket Magazine, Scope, and the American Literary Review.
She earned her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Her private law practice was limited to representing indigents on appeal from adverse rulings. Before law school, she taught English at the college and university level. She holds an MA in English with an emphasis in fiction writing from the University of California, Davis, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
“This is a book for any common-sense person who has looked around at the political division and outrage-fueled information environment and said, ‘What the hell is going on?’ or ‘How did we get here?’”
—Dannagal Young, Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Delaware
“Kanefield synthesizes insights from prominent scholars across different academic fields to give us a deeper understanding of how we got here. A brilliant book that everyone should read.”
—Peter Arenella, UCLA Law Professor Emeritus
“Kanefield brings her extraordinary intellect and insight to bear on the question of how humans might live in peace with one another. Combining this with her superpower of conveying, clearly and simply, very complex ideas, Kanefield has produced a concise but masterful guide to why things have gone awry in this era of polarization—and how we might find our way back. I could not recommend it more highly.”
—Karen Stenner, political and behavioral scientist and author of The Authoritarian Dynamic
* * *
Teri Kanefield’s books have won numerous awards and distinctions, including the Jane Addams Book Award and the Carter G. Woodson Middle-Level Book Award. Most recently, Rebels, Robbers, and The Story of the Bill of Rights was named an Orbis Pictus Honor Book. A Firehose of The Story of Disinformation was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the Best New Comics for Adults. Three of her books have been named Junior Library Guild selections. Rebels, Robbers, and The Story of the Bill of Rights was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her books have earned numerous starred reviews.
She has written legal commentary for The Washington Post, NBC, CNN, and other mainstream outlets. Her short stories and essays have appeared in publications as diverse as Education Week, The Iowa Review, Cricket Magazine, Scope, and the American Literary Review.
She earned her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Her private law practice was limited to representing indigents on appeal from adverse rulings. Before law school, she taught English at the college and university level. She holds an MA in English with an emphasis in fiction writing from the University of California, Davis, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
129 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 24, 2025
8 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Teri Kanefield
36 books103 followersTeri writes novels, short stories, essays, stories for children, nonfiction for both children and adults, and lots of appellate briefs.
Her stories and essays have appeared in publications as diverse as Education Week, Scope Magazine, The Iowa Review, Cricket Magazine, and The American Literary Review.
Teri's books have received the following honors and distinctions:
The Girl From The Tar Paper School:
--Jane Addams Book Award
--Carter G. Woodson Middle Level Book Award, 2015
--California Reading Association Eureka Silver Honor Book Award
--Included on the 2015 list of Notable Social Studies Trade Books for young readers compiled by the National Council for Social Studies
--Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children (National Association of Teachers of English), Recommended Book
--Included in the New York Public Library's list of 100 children's books to read in 2014.
--A Junior Library Guild selection
Praise for The Girl From The Tar Paper School:
"Beautifully and clearly written." School Library Journal, starred review
"Worthy of the highest recommendation." Midwest Book Review
Rivka's Way
--Sidney Taylor Book Awards, Notable book of 2001
-- Lilith Magazine's 5th Annual Selection of Books for Young Readers
--Included in Great Books for Girls, by Kathleen Odean
--Included in Best Jewish Books for Children and Teens, by Linda R. Silver
Praise for Rivka's Way :
"A rewarding read for the romantically inclined." School Library Journal
"A simple but daring adventure." Voice of Youth Advocates
Guilty? Crime, Punishment, and the Changing Face of Justice
--Junior Library Guild selection
Teri's law practice is limited to representing indigents on appeal from adverse rulings.
She lives in California near the beach..
Her stories and essays have appeared in publications as diverse as Education Week, Scope Magazine, The Iowa Review, Cricket Magazine, and The American Literary Review.
Teri's books have received the following honors and distinctions:
The Girl From The Tar Paper School:
--Jane Addams Book Award
--Carter G. Woodson Middle Level Book Award, 2015
--California Reading Association Eureka Silver Honor Book Award
--Included on the 2015 list of Notable Social Studies Trade Books for young readers compiled by the National Council for Social Studies
--Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children (National Association of Teachers of English), Recommended Book
--Included in the New York Public Library's list of 100 children's books to read in 2014.
--A Junior Library Guild selection
Praise for The Girl From The Tar Paper School:
"Beautifully and clearly written." School Library Journal, starred review
"Worthy of the highest recommendation." Midwest Book Review
Rivka's Way
--Sidney Taylor Book Awards, Notable book of 2001
-- Lilith Magazine's 5th Annual Selection of Books for Young Readers
--Included in Great Books for Girls, by Kathleen Odean
--Included in Best Jewish Books for Children and Teens, by Linda R. Silver
Praise for Rivka's Way :
"A rewarding read for the romantically inclined." School Library Journal
"A simple but daring adventure." Voice of Youth Advocates
Guilty? Crime, Punishment, and the Changing Face of Justice
--Junior Library Guild selection
Teri's law practice is limited to representing indigents on appeal from adverse rulings.
She lives in California near the beach..
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 27, 2025
Award winning author Teri Kanefield published a labor of love with her essay on Why Intolerance and Extremism Happen. Teri has taught English at the college level, successfully practiced as an appellate lawyer, and written several books on historical figures notable to our current political times, including Supreme Court associate justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Thurgood Marshall, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B Anthony and many more.
After writing books and blogging about history, law, and notable Americans for more than a decade, the word that comes to my mind to describe this book is sunesis. Understanding. Long ago bible teachers explained it to me as rivers of understanding coming together. Or connecting the dots.
Please do not pass up this glorious opportunity to connect the dots and magnify your understanding of how we came to this important time. These ARE the days that try Americans' souls.
After writing books and blogging about history, law, and notable Americans for more than a decade, the word that comes to my mind to describe this book is sunesis. Understanding. Long ago bible teachers explained it to me as rivers of understanding coming together. Or connecting the dots.
Please do not pass up this glorious opportunity to connect the dots and magnify your understanding of how we came to this important time. These ARE the days that try Americans' souls.
December 31, 2025
Pay Attention
The entire idea is to pause and breathe before blowing your stack. Research, review and consider statements, THEN make a decision, always with the understanding that new information may require a new evaluation of your previous decision. It's pretty simple, but VERY difficult to implement, even more so for some. No one must or should believe everything is simply this or that.
The entire idea is to pause and breathe before blowing your stack. Research, review and consider statements, THEN make a decision, always with the understanding that new information may require a new evaluation of your previous decision. It's pretty simple, but VERY difficult to implement, even more so for some. No one must or should believe everything is simply this or that.
December 27, 2025
Solid book. If everyone in America read this book maybe we wouldn’t be so divided. Main takeaway, have more intellectual humility and less intellectual arrogance.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews