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Inspired by her research for the hit podcast Ultra, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the far-right edge of our politics for the better part of a century. Before and even after our troops had begun fighting abroad in World War II, a clandestine network flooded the country with disinformation aimed at sapping the strength of the U.S. war effort and persuading Americans that our natural alliance was with the Axis, not against it. It was a sophisticated and shockingly well-funded campaign to undermine democratic institutions, promote antisemitism, and destroy citizens’ confidence in their elected leaders, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the U.S. government and installing authoritarian rule.
That effort worked—tongue and groove—alongside an ultra-right paramilitary movement that stockpiled bombs and weapons and trained for mass murder and violent insurrection.
At the same time, a handful of extraordinary activists and journalists were tracking the scheme, exposing it even as it was unfolding. In 1941 the U.S. Department of Justice finally made a frontal attack, identifying the key plotters, finding their backers, and prosecuting dozens in federal court.
None of it went as planned.
While the scheme has been remembered in history—if at all—as the work of fringe players, in reality it involved a large number of some of the country’s most influential elected officials. Their interference in law enforcement efforts against the plot is a dark story of the rule of law bending and then breaking under the weight of political intimidation.
That failure of the legal system had consequences. The tentacles of that unslain beast have reached forward into our history for decades. But the heroic efforts of the activists, journalists, prosecutors, and regular citizens who sought to expose the insurrectionists also make for a deeply resonant, deeply relevant tale in our own disquieting times.
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Edition | Availability |
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1
Prequel: AN AMERICAN FIGHT AGAINST FASCISM
Oct 17, 2023, Random House Audio
Audiobook
in English
0593788672 9780593788677
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Libraries near you:
WorldCat
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2
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism
October 17, 2023, Crown
Hardcover
in English
- First edition
0593444515 9780593444511
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aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
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Book Details
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New York City, New York, USA
First Sentence
"The House of the Vampire arrived in 1907, with a pinch of Bram Stoker's Dracula, a dash of Swinburne, and a major crush on Oscar Wilde."
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$32.00; C$42.00
Printing statement: "2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1" [and] "First Edition"
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- Created December 26, 2023
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January 4, 2024 | Edited by WikidataBot | [sync_edition_olids] add wikidata identifier |
December 26, 2023 | Edited by SFJuggler | Additional ID numbers. |
December 26, 2023 | Edited by SFJuggler | New book, description, physical description, cover, first sentence, contributors, ID numbers, classifications. |
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December 26, 2023 | Created by SFJuggler | Added new book. |