By: Lewis Sinclair Publisher: Signet Book Average Rating: Binding: Unbound Format: Import Label: Signet Book Number of Pages: 1 Publication Date: October 01, 1970
It Can't Happen Here This novel was written decades ago - we relive, however, the uncertainty and fear of those days. In times of eroding civil liberties and increasingly secretive American governmental power over and intrusion into the lives of all citizens, this book is a MUST READ for every citizen.
A must read: It CAN happen here. This is a classic American novel that postulated what might happen in the U.S. at a time (1935) when fascism was on the rise. The parallels to our times today are too close to ignore.
Another Script for America's Power Elites The first reviewer, Charles Haberl, does an excellent job describing the content of this insightful book and rightly draws the similarities to our own times.
I only wish to add a few points:
First of all, Sinclair Lewis drew his inspiration for writing this book from his wife, Dorothy Thompson. Dorothy was a journalist born in New York and was listed along with Eleanor Roosevelt as one of the two most influential women in America by "Time" magazine in 1939. Dorothy was outspoken against the Hitler regime and became the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany, and folks, this was in 1934! Hitler hadn't even shown his hand yet! AND, interestingly enough, an astute Dorothy Thompson wrote an article after WWII "cautioning American Jews about Zionism as it would lead to dual loyalty". Today, we see this dual loyalty in the Neo-cons who have sold their American soul to their militant worshipping satan...
The title of the book, "It Can't Happen Here", about "it happening here" is an obvious political knock on those who actually think this can't happen in the USA. Under Dorothy Thomnpson's influence, Sinclair Lewis was shown how fragile democracy is and how easity it can be subverted as detailed in Charles Haberl's review above. This book is also mentioned in the book, Dictators, Democracy, and American Public Culture: Envisioning the Totalitarian Enemy, 1920s-1950s as being part of the culture in the American dictatorship milieu (see my reveiew of that relevant work).
The other thing I found very interesting about "It Can't Happen Here" is the mention by Sinclair Lewis of "Protocols of the Elders of Zion". Perhaps this is the pamphlet that served as Lewis's blueprint for the tactics used by his dictatorship regime.
And finally, I'd like to point out one final, but most pertinent contemporary parallel of Lewis's dictatorship: "...in a couple of years now, ON THE GROUND OF PROTECTING US, the Buzz Windrip dictatorship will be regimenting everything, from where we may pray to what detective stories we may read".
Why is it that so few people can see through this TERROR, TERROR, TERROR, mantra of our current administration?
Be Careful What You Wish For... This is one of the most unusual offerings from novelist Sinclair Lewis. Unlike many of his previous books, it was written in great haste and the subject matter is exclusively related to electoral politics. In some respects, the material is dated, unlike other totalitarian nightmare novels like "1984" and "Brave New World," because it is set in a fixed place and time. The election in contest is that of 1936 and the question to be answered is whether or not voters weary of the Great Depression are prepared to sacrifice individual liberties and accept fascist dictatorial rule.
Given the political climate in the contemporary USA, this warning from the past still seems relevant today. Too many people seem willing to follow the Pied Piper rather than asking questions and making difficult choices.
So this is how democracy dies...with thunderous applause "It Can't Happen Here" is a staggering read, in terms of its unflinching cruel look at reality - the fact that something like what Sinclair Lewis describes can very easily happen here in America. Lewis' novel examines the very fragile nature of democracy and how everyday citizens can get swept up in the charisma of a fascist leader. What may make the novel even more astounding in premise is that it was written during the Great Depression before Hitler's most unfathomable intents were made known; much of what happens throughout America in the novel mirrors what happened in Nazi Germany with ordinary citizens turning a blind eye to injustice in the name of reform and prosperity.
The story is told mainly through the viewpoint of Doremus Jessup, the editor of a daily newspaper in a small Vermont village, who always tells the truth no matter what. He witnesses firsthand (and through radio and newswire accounts) the fervor that surrounds the presidential candidate, Buzz Windrip and rightfully fears what will happen to America when Buzz is elected. And with good reason, for Windrip's 'Fifteen Point Plan' includes an impossible scheme to make every citizen rich, except of course for the Jews and Negroes. With Buzz elected as president, America quickly becomes a nightmare of a dictatorship, with everything from speech to education being controlled, with subversives either killed or placed in concentration camps. How can Doremus tell the truth and provide for his family if it means putting everyone close to him in danger? Are one man's moral obligations to what is right worth sacrificing everything for? It's a question that Doremus struggles with throughout the novel.
Sinclair Lewis penned a brilliant and scary satire with "It Can't Happen Here", a story balanced by its odd wit and humor. But the story is too often sidetracked by its very own main character; parts of the story meander for pages with no apparent end in sight. It's almost as if Lewis had more to say on the subject but wasn't quite sure how to work it in to the story. Despite the setting of the mid-1930s, the truly frightening aspect of "It Can't Happen Here" is exactly how applicable it is to today's world. Readers will recognize certain fears and hysteria that have marked these few years since September eleventh, and in a year of presidential elections, this story may make readers think a little more carefully about the power of persuasion.
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