American Midnight

The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis

By: Adam Hochschild

Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross

Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

From legendary historian Adam Hochschild, a groundbreaking reassessment of the overlooked but startlingly resonant period between World War I and the Roaring Twenties, when the foundations of American democracy were threated by war, pandemic, and violence fueled by battles over race, immigration, and the rights of labor

"A riveting, resonant account of the fragility of freedom.”—Kirkus, STARRED review

The nation was on the brink. Mobs burned Black churches to the ground. Courts threw thousands of people into prison for opinions they voiced—in one notable case, only in private. Self-appointed vigilantes executed tens of thousands of citizens’ arrests. Some seventy-five newspapers and magazines were banned from the mail and forced to close. When the government stepped in, it was often to fan the flames.

This was America during and after the Great War: a brief but appalling era blighted by lynchings, censorship, and the sadistic, sometimes fatal abuse of conscientious objectors in military prisons—a time whose toxic currents of racism, nativism, red-baiting, and contempt for the rule of law then flowed directly through the intervening decades to poison our own. It was a tumultuous period defined by a diverse and colorful cast of characters, some of whom fueled the injustice while others fought against it: from the sphinxlike Woodrow Wilson, to the fiery antiwar advocates Kate Richards O’Hare and Emma Goldman, to labor champion Eugene Debs, to a little-known but ambitious bureaucrat named J. Edgar Hoover, and to an outspoken leftwing agitator—who was in fact Hoover’s star undercover agent. It is a time that we have mostly forgotten about, until now.

In American Midnight, award-winning historian Adam Hochschild brings alive the horrifying yet inspiring four years following the U.S. entry into the First World War, spotlighting forgotten repression while celebrating an unforgettable set of Americans who strove to fix their fractured country—and showing how their struggles still guide us today.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Adam Hochschild (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Dark Time in America

Adam Hochschild has given us a detailed and profound history of four dark years in American history.

Very Enlightening

Excellent book on a part of American history that probably most Americans do not know. I learned much, though it included facts that were sickening, shocking, and heartbreaking. This is history we all should know so that hopefully it will not be repeated.

Timely and daunting

Just about 100 years ago, America’s fears and responses to the “Great War” set in motion events and prejudices that are still determinative of current issues. I listened to this book to learn how we got here, and it’s a little frightening to think that many of the irrational, selfish, and merely manipulative elements of today reflect so much of what this book describes from so long ago. More detail than I expected (or at times needed), but thoroughly researched and informative to the end…

Great book, hammy narrator

The narrator works way too hard to sell a book that doesn’t need the hard sell. It’s an important book, often upsetting, expertly written, but the narration is distracting. Every sentence has exaggerated emphases and rising or falling tones. Every one. I bought the book to finish it.

Intro to US radical politics

Incredible story of a truly disturbing period of US history. Great reading performance from Jonathan Todd Ross: dynamic tone. This history is of particular relevance to those interested in radical dissent, antiwar struggles, Left history and reactionary conservatism.

Villains and Heroes and Everyone Else

This was a thought-provoking read. I liked it. It caused me to "think again." Is it slanted? Am I slanted? Are we doomed to repeat history? Am I an ideologue? Is my mom? My governor? My ___? What camp would I have been in during this period of history? Have we come a long way? Are we still at risk? What will history say about us in 2123? Read for fascinating history and insight for today.

Compelling, shocking, and unsparing

Even for someone with a reasonable grounding in all the disparate constituent elements of this story, Hochschild’s historical reporting brought a narrative together in a manner that deeply impresses. Timely!

Perhaps it would be depressing in other circumstances, but I take solace in knowing that the United States has been through eras of severe crisis before.

Such an important piece of history

A must read. Such a terrible shame on the U.S. Tragic that we are currently heading back to this shameful time.

Important book

Every American should read this and think hard about the challenges that are still with us.

History everyone needs to hear

I thought the material was stellar. I had the hardest time adapting to the reader. Several times I thought I could not continue to listen and put it away. His rhythm and intonation made it difficult to assimilate the text. Usually I don’t have difficulty adapting to a less-than-ideal reader but this bugged me to the end. I feel like I’d enjoy reading the book myself.