Number of Pages: 376
Genre: Political fiction, dystopia
Senator Berzelius "Buzz" Windrip, a vain, outlandish, racist, sexist demagogue is voted President of the Unites Sates of America, with promises that he will make angry, white voters proud, prosperous and powerful, and, more or less, that he will Make America Great Again. Before long he becomes the dictator of a totalitarian United States. The rise of Windrip, and America's descent into tyranny, is shown through the increasingly appalled eyes of small town newspaper editor Doremus Jessup who soon learns, to his horror, that it can happen here.
This is a powerful anti-fascist novel that, distressingly, feels possibly more timely now than it did when it was first published in 1935, at the height of fascism in Europe. While the book is very much of it's time, it's set during the late 1930s and references several real-life people and events of the time, it is still readable today. And this is a very readable book. Lewis was a good writer, with a memorable turn of phrase and a dab hand in writer striking one-liners. In the early stages of the book it is often laugh out loud funny, but as the novel progresses, and the situation becomes more serious, the laughs quickly vanish. This book is a must read for anyone, just to see where we are and where we may be headed. Remember, not only can it happen here, but it is happening here.
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