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It Can't Happen Here

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It Can't Happen Here

By: Sinclair Lewis
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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First published in 1935, when Americans were still largely oblivious to the rise of Hitler in Europe, this prescient novel tells a cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy and offers an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America.

Doremus Jessup, a newspaper editor, is dismayed to find that many of the people he knows support presidential candidate Berzelius Windrip. The suspiciously fascist Windrip is offering to save the nation from sex, crime, welfare cheats, and a liberal press. But after Windrip wins the election, dissent soon becomes dangerous for Jessup. Windrip forcibly gains control of Congress and the Supreme Court and, with the aid of his personal paramilitary storm troopers, turns the United States into a totalitarian state.

©1935 Sinclair Lewis. © renewed 1963 by Michael Lewis (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Classics Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Political Science Fiction Liberalism Soviet Union Socialism Russia
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Critic reviews

“One of the most important books ever produced in this country.”

(New Yorker)

“This audio version of the Sinclair Lewis classic keeps listeners riveted to Grover Gardner’s restrained yet powerful delivery. The 1935 novel, which predicts a dystopian future, is truly crafted for listening. Gardner is masterful at bringing listeners into the workings of protagonist Doremus Jessup’s worried mind.”

(AudioFile)

“Written at white heat.”

(Chicago Tribune)

“The novel that foreshadowed Donald Trump’s authoritarian appeal.”

(Salon)

“A message to thinking Americans.”

(Springfield Republican)

“Lewis imagined the rise of a populist figure by the name of Buzz Windrip who rallies to defeat FDR in the 1936 election…Windrip loves big, passionate rallies and rails against the ‘lies of the mainstream press.’”

(Time)

“A cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy…It Can’t Happen Here remains uniquely important, a shockingly prescient novel that’s as fresh and contemporary as today’s news.”

(Library Journal (starred review))
All stars
Most relevant
It's shocking to see all the similarities. The constant attack to the press, the demagogue discourse, using Mexico as a scape goat. Totally worth reading.

It's funny though how in a book that talks about censorship to the point of burning books the swear words are censored. But that's my only criticism to this production.

Not Trump but...

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Given when this was written (1930’s) this is an astonishing book and is really a reader for today’s ills in many countries, including the US and UK. Actually this would be an interesting book on any political course.

Recommend

Astonishing

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This is my first Sinclair Lewis book and I am taken by his future sense of how things can go in America if democracy is abandoned. He writes with a depth that causes deep thought. Strange as it is, Trump is Windrip! Scary and yet hopeful. The resistance of the the likes of Jessup will restore balance. This book is a must read for those who deny that this could happen.

Hauntingly Accurate

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The prose is beautiful and the tone sardonic. It touches on my pertinent issues in American politics and society which are still problematic, especially during these days of Trumpism.

A Prophetic View of American Politics

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the author 's genius is in how close his narrative matches today's world. This is a necessary read.

the eerie similarity with today's world...

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