Fromthefarlefttothefarright,ontalkradioandtheop-edpage,moreandmoreAmericansbelievethatthesocialfabricisunraveling.Celebrityworshipandmediafrenzy,suicidalcultistsandheavilyarmedsecessionists:modernlifeseemstohavebecomea"pyrotechnicinsanitarium,"MarkDerysays,borrowingaturn-of-the-centurynameforConeyIsland.Deryelucidatesthemeaningtoourmadness,deconstructingAmericanculturefrommainstreamforceslikeDisneyandNiketofringephenomenaliketheUnabomberandalieninvaders.Ourmillennialangst,heargues,isaproductofapervasiveculturalanxiety-acombinationofthesocialandeconomicupheavalwroughtbyglobalcapitalismandtheparanoiafannedbymediasensationalism.ThePyrotechnicInsanitariumisatheme-parkridethroughtheextremesofAmericancultureofwhichTheAtlanticMonthlyhaswritten,"MarkDeryconfirmsonceagainwhatwritersandthinkersasdisparateasNathanaelWest,FyodorDostoyevsky,SigmundFreud,andOliverSackshavealreadyshownus:thebestplacetoexplorethehumanconditionisatitsoutermargins,itspathologicalextremes."