It Can't Happen Here: What Will Happen When America Has a Dictator?

A smalltown New England newspaper editor watches in dismay as a populist demagogue is elected US president on a raft of false promises, suspends democratic norms, demonises minorities, throws opponents into concentration camps and engineers a war with Mexico. Ring any bells ? Sinclair Lewis's dystopian potboiler may seem a little clunky and far-fetched at times but remember that it was written in 1935, and was a direct projection of contemporary events in Germany onto the United States, without the benefit of hindsight. That makes its prescience all the more remarkable. It may be a stretch to believe that Trump has read this book (or any book, for that matter) but it's a fair bet that the far more sinister characters around him (Stephen Miller et al) who pull his strings have. It can't happen here eh ? It already has.

I think if I’d stuck with it I’d have found a resonance with politics of USA today, but I got bored not too far in: it’s now in the Chest Heart & Stroke charity shop.

Interesting story with many parallels with recent events. Dated language aside, a gripping story, definitely worth reading.

Terrifying!