What kind of world do we live in, where long-accepted moral truths are overturned in a single generation, and where debates about sex, gender, and identity dominate family conversations, classrooms, and political life? In Strange New World, historian and theologian Carl R. Trueman provides a clear and accessible guide to understanding the cultural shifts that have made the modern West feel so unfamiliar—and at times, so bewildering.

This book is a concise, reader-friendly version of Trueman’s groundbreaking work The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. While his earlier volume spanned over 400 pages of intellectual history, Strange New World distills the argument into a format designed for students, pastors, parents, and thoughtful readers who want to make sense of today’s rapidly changing cultural landscape.

Trueman explains how ideas about the self, identity, and authenticity evolved from thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud, and how those ideas eventually fueled the sexual revolution and the rise of identity politics. Concepts such as expressive individualism—the belief that one’s inner feelings are the truest marker of identity—are unpacked in plain language, showing how these ideas shape everything from debates over gender to the way society views family, community, and morality.

The book’s chapters guide readers through this intellectual and cultural journey:

Romantic Roots traces the origins of expressive individualism.

Sexualizing Psychology, Politicizing Sex explains how Freud and Marx helped reframe sexuality as central to human identity.

Plastic People, Liquid World explores how technology and consumerism reinforce unstable notions of selfhood.

The Sexual Revolution of the LGBTQ+ examines why sexuality and gender have become the defining issues of our age.

Strangers in This Strange New World helps readers understand their place as people of faith in a culture transformed.

About the Author
Carl R. Trueman is a professor at Grove City College and a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. A respected church historian and cultural commentator, he has written widely on the Reformation, theology, and contemporary culture. With Strange New World, Trueman offers not just a history lesson but a roadmap for navigating the challenges of modern identity and morality.

Endorsements & Praise
The book has received acclaim across intellectual, cultural and Christian groups. Rod Dreher praises it as “one of the most important books of the century” for its diagnosis of cultural chaos. Tim Challies describes it as “a guided tour to modern times,” while Andrew Klavan calls it “an essential primer on how the world went mad.” Other endorsements—from Albert Mohler, Erika Bachiochi, and Jennifer Patterson—highlight its clarity, courage, and accessibility.

Why It Matters
In an age of disorientation—where institutions falter, families fracture, and the definition of humanity itself seems up for grabs—Strange New World equips readers with understanding and perspective. It is not a polemic but a guide: descriptive, explanatory, and hopeful. Trueman helps us see where we are, how we got here, and how individuals, families, and churches might faithfully live in this “strange new world.”