It Can't Happen Here

"The novel that foreshadowed Donald Trump's authoritarian appeal."-Salon It Can't Happen Here is the only one of Sinclair Lewis's later novels to match the power of Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith. A cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, it is an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. Written during the Great Depression, when the country 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, sex, crime, and a liberal press. Called "a message to thinking Americans" by the Springfield Republican when it was published in 1935, It Can't Happen Here is a shockingly prescient novel that remains as fresh and contemporary as today's news. With an Introduction by Michael Meyer and an Afterword by Gary Scharnhorst

Published during the heyday of fascism in Europe, It Can't Happen Here is a chilling cautionary tale by one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, which is still startlingly relevant almost a century later. Charting the rise to power of Berzelius 'Buzz' Windrip, who whips his supporters into a frenzy while promising drastic reform under a banner of patriotism and traditional values, It Can't Happen Here decries the tactics used by politicians to mobilise voters, and exposes the danger of authoritarianism arising from populist platforms, and the chaos such regimes can leave in their wake.

Published during the heyday of fascism in Europe, It Can't Happen Here is a chilling cautionary tale by one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, which is still startlingly relevant almost a century later. Charting the rise to power of Berzelius 'Buzz' Windrip, who whips his supporters into a frenzy while promising drastic reform under a banner of patriotism and traditional values, It Can't Happen Here decries the tactics used by politicians to mobilise voters, and exposes the danger of authoritarianism arising from populist platforms, and the chaos such regimes can leave in their wake.

'An eerily prescient foreshadowing of current affairs' Guardian 'Not only Lewis's most important book but one of the most important books ever produced in the United States' New Yorker A vain, outlandish, anti-immigrant, fearmongering demagogue runs for President of the United States - and wins. Sinclair Lewis's chilling 1935 bestseller is the story of Buzz Windrip, 'Professional Common Man', who promises poor, angry voters that he will make America proud and prosperous once more, but takes the country down a far darker path. As the new regime slides into authoritarianism, newspaper editor Doremus Jessup can't believe it will last - but is he right? This cautionary tale of liberal complacency in the face of populist tyranny shows it really can happen here.

'An eerily prescient foreshadowing of current affairs' Guardian 'Not only Lewis's most important book but one of the most important books ever produced in the United States' New Yorker A vain, outlandish, anti-immigrant, fearmongering demagogue runs for President of the United States - and wins. Sinclair Lewis's chilling 1935 bestseller is the story of Buzz Windrip, 'Professional Common Man', who promises poor, angry voters that he will make America proud and prosperous once more, but takes the country down a far darker path. As the new regime slides into authoritarianism, newspaper editor Doremus Jessup can't believe it will last - but is he right? This cautionary tale of liberal complacency in the face of populist tyranny shows it really can happen here.

In It Can't Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis crafts a chilling tale of a populist demagogue who rises to power in America, transforming the nation into a fascist dictatorship. This classic novel serves as a timeless warning about the fragility of democracy and the dangers of complacency in the face of tyranny.

In It Can't Happen Here , Sinclair Lewis crafts a chilling tale of a populist demagogue who rises to power in America, transforming the nation into a fascist dictatorship. This classic novel serves as a timeless warning about the fragility of democracy and the dangers of complacency in the face of tyranny.

It Can't Happen Here. Are we so sure? Many would suggest that it certainly could happen 'here,' which is precisely the point that Sinclair Lewis was making when he wrote this book in 1935. This, incidentally, was still a few years before the worst fears would unfold in Germany, giving the book a somewhat prophetic flair. Based on the American Democrat, Huey Long, it has been, despite that, often been associated with 'right wing' movements. This is ironic, as only a few years later it would be the Democrat FDR that would put American-Japanese citizens into concentration camps using 'emergency powers,' much as the book's protagonist, Berzelius Windrip, was portrayed as doing, after beating FDR in 1936. In case you miss the irony: the real-life FDR actually did what the fictional Windrip was portrayed as doing! The long history of abandoning civil rights using emergency powers was reprised more recently during the COVID pandemic, when Western nations and individual US states, ostensibly 'democracies,' nonetheless invoked emergency powers to enact all sorts of authoritarian measures. Thus, when pondering whether or not 'it can happen here' (which all assume it can) we are perhaps left with a more intriguing question: Why hasn't it happened here? And then, once this has been answered, work to ensure that the factors that have prevented a full-blown authoritarian regime from materializing in the United States are retained and strengthened.

It Can't Happen Here. Are we so sure?Many would suggest that it certainly could happen 'here,' which is precisely the point that Sinclair Lewis was making when he wrote this book in 1935. This, incidentally, was still a few years before the worst fears would unfold in Germany, giving the book a somewhat prophetic flair. Based on the American Democrat, Huey Long, it has been, despite that, often been associated with 'right wing' movements. This is ironic, as only a few years later it would be the Democrat FDR that would put American-Japanese citizens into concentration camps using 'emergency powers,' much as the book's protagonist, Berzelius Windrip, was portrayed as doing, after beating FDR in 1936. In case you miss the irony: the real-life FDR actually did what the fictional Windrip was portrayed as doing! The long history of abandoning civil rights using emergency powers was reprised more recently during the COVID pandemic, when Western nations and individual US states, ostensibly 'democracies,' nonetheless invoked emergency powers to enact all sorts of authoritarian measures. Thus, when pondering whether or not 'it can happen here' (which all assume it can) we are perhaps left with a more intriguing question:Why hasn't it happened here?And then, once this has been answered, work to ensure that the factors that have prevented a full-blown authoritarian regime from materializing in the United States are retained and strengthened.