It Can't Happen Here in Classics Without All the Class

Jan 27, 2020 Pam Shelton-Anderson rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: post-apocalyptic-future-dystopia, classic

This book was written in 1935 before Hitler was at his height of power. Is it very dated with respect to language and reference? Yes, very and this made it a challenge to digest. Had I read this book 5 years ago, I would have thought that it was interesting, particularly that his story occurs at the time Hitler was coming into his own, but, as the title suggests, I would have shrugged that it could not happen in America. Reading it in the current political climate, I'm not so sure it may not be ...more

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Aug 19, 2018 Mike Davis rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction, political, dystopian

Written in 1935 as Nazi Germany was ramping up for WW2, this somewhat sarcastic look at the threat of governmental control must have been the inspiration for George Orwell's 1984. The parallels in Lewis' book and the current (2018) U.S. government activity is stunning in their similarity leading up to the ultimate takeover envisioned in the ending.

This book is a classic. Perhaps not the best book Lewis ever wrote, but one which is frighteningly predictive of the downfall of democracy. Lewis offe ...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Nanci Svensson rated it really liked it

Shelves: ww2

It's The Plot Against America by Philip Roth! But written half a century before The Plot!
This is a real gem, though seldom talked of - it portrays ahistorical transcendental human folly and should feel relevant to a reader In 2013. Habeas Schmabeas! ...more

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