It Can't Happen Here

By: Sinclair Lewis

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

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.

Good, But Not In Order...

I enjoyed the book. The narrator did fine. And the story is very well written. However...
In this recording, the following episodes were not in order and thus detracts from an otherwise good performance:
* Shad LeDue sulking about the régime's disrespect for him & his pining for Sissy;
*his "courtship" of Sissy;
*Sissy's turning Shad in for crooked dealings;
*and Shad's arrest/ imprisonment.

While an excellent story & performance, the editors or whoever put the recording together, should have done a better job.

Engaging rumination on capitalism, fascism and communism.

Timely and timeless. Examines the psyche of a populace ripe for picking by a populist authoritarian and the struggle of those who too late resist. Though dated the reader will recognize propagandist themes that we see today. Expertly narrated.

Parallel is terrifying

it took me a while to figure out it wasn't written recently. Even though this is set & written in the 1930s, one could see more parallels today with certain Republican politicians.
The narrator did an excellent job separating the characters and narration.

A must read!

Now more than ever, every freedom-loving person needs to read this. Not only can it happen here, it can happen wherever YOU are.

meh

I'm not the biggest fiction fan, but one chapter into this book, I was anticipating bring done with it.
I did find it interesting how ironic how many reviews and discussions point out allusions of fascism (eg Bush, Trump) but no recognition of dystopian socialistic fascism of Biden and Obama. ah well

it Might Be Able To Happen Here!

A timely story. A candidate makes promises to voters that aren't delivered on, while leveraging militias to help gain absolute power. A compelling story and I imagine even more relevant at the time it was written in 1935, but then again maybe even more relevant today.

great book and narrator.

the story had a slightly slow beginning but it was definitely worth the wait. it is a very relevant read for these troubled times.

Amazing subject.

It's quite a strange story and yet fully plausible if the odds continue in a downward spiral. Let's hope it doesn't really happen that our government gets this bad.

IMPORTANT DYSTOPIAN NOVEL

Way ahead of its time. EVEN BEFORE WW2! But kind of clunky presentation of plot/writing and old man style performance. Seemed so passive. Not at the level of writing of Orwell.

Narrator's Voice is Making it Difficult to Finish

The narrator has an "old school" hard-boiled voice which kept me from finishing. Disappointing.