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Jun 27, 2023
I enjoyed this book. However, I think the writer of the book description above should know that 'prophesizes' is not a word. Good grief! This is from a Library no less. How did this get past Editing? It should read: 'that…
Sep 16, 2022dissymissylessy rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
it's fine . . . . " 'the real trouble with the jews is that they are cruel. anybody with a knowledge of history knows how they tortured poor debtors in secret catacombs, all through the middle ages. whereas the nordic is distinguished…
Aug 21, 2022
It appears that someone is using this platform to promote Trump who is now the biggest danger that the US has ever faced, dictatorship under the guise of democracy.
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Jul 21, 2022bell5133 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
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Jul 15, 2022MVK912 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is a scary book. It was difficult for me to complete. Piqued my curiosity about the years before WWII, so I did some research on some of the people named in this book. People had great ideas back then, but it seems like the…
pcmac444
Jan 18, 2021pcmac444 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
What I enjoy about Sinclair Lewis' writing is the satire. It is hilarious the way he pokes fun at provincial Midwest small town life. There is some satire in this book, but the theme is too serious to bring out much humour. And, as others…
Mar 09, 2020EljayJohnson rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The beginning of this book was rough going for me and for a moment I thought I wouldn't finish it (or it would take me a month to read). But it improved and I got used to it. The problem was that there were so many anecdotal topical…
Sep 11, 2019larry_68 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The same genre as "1984" and "The Handmaiden's Tale", this dystopian saga has many parallels to today's politics. A product of the depression era 1930s, the writing style is dated; however, it is important to understand how society can…
Jul 08, 2019vega6e rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Written in the 30's a fictional story of how America becomes a fascist state. Many parallels to present day politics where the wealthy have way too much say in our government. It was not an easy read for me, as many of the characters are…
JCLS_Ashland_Kristin
Jul 02, 2019JCLS_Ashland_Kristin rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Eerie reading. Published before WWII, this novel describes the rise to power of an authoritarian dictator in the United States. Not only was it prescient in it's description of authoritarianism in Europe in the subsequent decade, it also…
Jun 21, 2019SusyHendrix rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
It's sad how this book has dated very little in its political satire. It's a chilling book, but also darkly humorous. However, its characters are a bit too simple and its worldbuilding a bit too vague for me to put it beside dystopian…
Jun 15, 2019hamerkop rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A prescient view for the mid 1930s, this novel has relevance for today as well. The march of the fascist movement is alive today and an almost mirror image of the situation in 1935 when this novel was first published. Like Orwell's "1984"…
Apr 03, 2019
Continue page 74, end of chapter 9
Aug 22, 2017AaronAardvark1940 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Perhaps because my parents were teenagers during the period covered by this book, I found it an easy read, almost a page-turner. Doremus Jessup and his friends are fleshed-out nicely, but one must remember that Lewis uses every character…
Jul 31, 2017AQUILEA777 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I read this novel about forty years ago. It's very artificial, but not unreadably so. The same applies to Lewis's KINGSBLOOD ROYAL, an assault on racism. If Lewis were writing today, he would likely satirize big government regimentation…
Jul 28, 2017mighty_mom rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Amazingly prophetic story about an American president who leads the country down the path of fascism. This book was written in 1935 during the rise of Hitler and Mussolini. It's mostly seen thru the eyes of a newspaper editor, and gives…
Apr 09, 2017JLMason rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
If it weren’t for the events of today in the U.S., this 1930’s political satire would be all but forgotten. However, the fascinating similarities in the rise of fictitious fascist populist Buzz Windrip makes you realize that the more…
Apr 08, 2017bibliomutti rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
It is difficult to read through this book and not just because it was written long ago. However, it is worth trying to read it... whole passages can be lifted and applied to Trump and his campaign for the White House. That is probably…
Mar 13, 2017wyenotgo rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
While I understand this book's sudden return to popularity, being viewed as relevant in view of the recent election of Trump, I'm afraid it's being given much better reviews than it deserves. The theme is of course valid. Regrettably, the…
Jan 01, 2017azay rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I found it helpful to also read the Afterword in this book prior to reading the novel -- and then rereading the Afterword after having read it. A 1968 television movie Shadow on the Land (alternate title: United States: It Can't Happen…
Dec 31, 2016LovieBooker rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Very hard for me to read, with archaic prose, run-on sentences and superfluous descriptions. However, the premise is frighteningly relevant today.
Jun 08, 2016naturalist rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
further reading: “Fascism: Why Not Here?” by Brian Fogarty, Potomac Books, 2009, hc ISBN-10: 1597972231, ISBN-13: 978-1597972239 and, “Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America” Bertram M. Gross (Author), Mark Crispin…
Jun 07, 2016StarGladiator rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Rest easy, Amuricans, fascism could never happen here, even though I greatly enjoyed this novel as a youth. Since President Billygoat, as his last act in the White House, signed an executive order exempting all CIA personnel from the US…
Jun 01, 2016tirjan rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
"The novel that foreshadowed Donald Trump’s authoritarian appeal."—Salon 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…
Dec 10, 2013lukasevansherman rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning novelist Sinclair Lewis's status rests on just a handful of books ("Elmer Gantry," "Main Street," "Babbitt") and this is his most provocative and most interesting. Disturbed by the rising of fascism in…