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Democracy Awakening

Notes on the State of America

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

In Democracy Awakening, American historian Heather Cox Richardson examines how, over the decades, an elite minority have made war on American ideals. By weaponising language and promoting false history, they are leading Americans into authoritarianism and creating a disaffected population.

Many books tell us what has happened over the last five years. In Democracy Awakening, Richardson wrangles America's meandering and confusing news feed into a coherent story to explain how America got to this perilous point, what we should pay attention to, and what the future of democracy holds.

©2023 Heather Cox Richardson (P)2023 Penguin Audio

 Americas Civics & Citizenship Freedom & Security Politics & Government United States World Authoritarianism Capitalism Social justice Socialism Latin American Liberalism American History War Taxation Suffrage

Critic reviews

A vibrant, and essential history of America's unending, enraging and utterly compelling struggle since its founding to live up to its own best ideals... It's both a cause for hope, and a call to arms.
An excellent primer for anyone who needs the important facts of the last 150 years of American history (Charles Kaiser)
The most lucid just-so story for Trump's rise I've ever heard. It's magisterial (Virginia Heffernan)
With her characteristic powerful prose, Heather Richardson explores the raging (in every sense of the word) political, cultural, and social forces that an elite minority has fostered to divide Americans, erode democracy, and rise to power. By reclaiming this history, she reminds us that democracy is a process, not an endpoint -- and that it demands our efforts now, more than ever.
No one understands the warp and woof of the complicated tapestry that is the United States, no one apprehends the undertow and disparate forces that have directed the tides of American politics, no one forges the connections between then and now better than Heather Cox Richardson does. The result is a cogent, challenging, thoughtful, riveting and beautiful narrative. Brava!
For the last several turbulent years, millions have looked to Heather Cox Richardson's daily letters for vital historical perspective, wisdom, and moral clarity. In Democracy Awakening, Richardson goes beyond the news cycle to explain how we got here, placing our current political crisis against the age-old struggle to expand civil rights and economic opportunity. What emerges is a brilliant and honest account of our nation's past and present. If you care about American democracy-and are engaged in the fight to preserve it-this book is a must-read.
An important addition to the burgeoning literature and scholarship on what I have characterized as America’s Third Reconstruction . . . she is at her best simply telling us the story of how we came to be living on the brink of ending our nearly 250-year democratic experiment (Peniel Joseph)
A fresh historical interpretation of American democracy and its many challenges . . . It’s an unusual but effective structure, allowing Richardson to do what she does best: show her readers how history and the present are in constant conversation. Reminding us that 'how it comes out rests . . . in our own hands,' Richardson empowers us for the chapters yet to come
Engaging and highly accessible
All stars
Most relevant
This book sets out very clearly the tension throughout American history between authoritarianism on the one hand and democratic liberalism in the interests of the people on the other hand.

Clear and timely

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The author's ability to use history to show how the United States is in the situation it is in, but make it interesting and easy for anyone to understand, shows her passion for Democracy and the Rule of Law.

Concise and Informative

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A clear assessment of what has been happening in America over the past few years. The author relates this to the country's political past in a way that helped me understand.

Enlightening

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