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It Can't Happen Here - Sinclair Lewis, Michael Meyer
It Can't Happen Here
by: (author) (author)
3.60 25
The only one of Sinclair Lewis's later novels to match the power of Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith, It Can't Happen Here is a cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. Written during the Great Depression... show more
The only one of Sinclair Lewis's later novels to match the power of Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith, It Can't Happen Here is a cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. Written during the Great Depression when America was largely oblivious to Hitler's aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a President who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, rampant promiscuity, crime, and a liberal press. Now finally back in print, It Can't Happen Here remains uniquely important, a shockingly prescient novel that's as fresh and contemporary as today's news. "Written at white heat." —Chicago Tribune "A message to thinking Americans." —Springfield Republican "Not only [Lewis's] most important book but one of the most important books ever produced in this country." —The New Yorker
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Format: paperback
ISBN: 9780451529299 (0451529294)
Publisher: Signet Classics
Pages no: 400
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
Thewanderingjew
Thewanderingjew rated it
5.0 A Very Prophetic Novel Subject to Interpretation!
It Can’t Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis, author; Grover Gardner, narrator The time is 1936. The Depression is a nightmare memory which has changed the mood of the country. There is political unrest, a charged atmosphere of distrust for government officials, anger at rich corporate giants, and a general...
Philosophical Musings of a Book Nerd
Philosophical Musings of a Book Nerd rated it
4.0 The Rise of an American Dictatorship
I discovered this book after reading a collection of interviews by Howard Zinn where he described it as a warning about how the United States could become a fascist dictatorship. Zinn's argument was that the US is already heading down that road, though it has not quite reached that point at the time...
Autumn Adventures
Autumn Adventures rated it
3.0
Written in the 30s, during the depths of the Depression, before World War II, this dystopian classic paints a grim picture of America's fall into it's own flavor of fascism. Some of his assertions stretched my belief nearly to the breaking point, most notable being the seemingly easy evaporation of...
spocksbro
spocksbro rated it
Though written around 1934, this is a frighteningly prescient book considering the state of the country today. Lewis' presentation of the hero's time in an American concentration camp is particularly affecting.
Maven Books
Maven Books rated it
4.0 It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
A scary picture of what could happen in the US, if political issues/plans are deceptively presented. Some of it was a bit eerie for the connection to today, but I think the takeover in the book was far less gradual than were it to actually happen. The build-up of a dictatorship took about two years ...
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