It Can't Happen Here (Paperback)

Sinclair Lewis

ISBN 10: 0241310660 / ISBN 13: 9780241310663

Published by Penguin Books Ltd, London, 2017

About this Item

Paperback. New to Penguin Classics, Lewis's 1935 bestseller about a demagogue who becomes president of the United States is 'frighteningly contemporary'It's 1935 and discontent is rife in America. From the political margins appears Buzz Windrip, charismatic presidential candidate and 'inspired guesser at what political doctrines the people would like'. Sweeping to power amid mass elation, he promises wealth for all and the dawn of a glorious new era. Small-town newspaper editor Doremus Jessup is worried, especially when the new regime becomes increasingly authoritarian. But what can one individual do to fight an all-powerful state? Sinclair Lewis's terrifying cautionary tale pits liberal complacency against popular fascism and shows: yes, it really can happen here. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780241310663

Bibliographic Details

• Title: It Can't Happen Here (Paperback)
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, London
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0241310660
• ISBN 13: 9780241310663
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

'An eerily prescient foreshadowing of current affairs' Guardian 'Not only Lewis's most important book but one of the most important books ever produced in the United States' New Yorker A vain, outlandish, anti-immigrant, fearmongering demagogue runs for President of the United States - and wins. Sinclair Lewis's chilling 1935 bestseller is the story of Buzz Windrip, 'Professional Common Man', who promises poor, angry voters that he will make America proud and prosperous once more, but takes the country down a far darker path. As the new regime slides into authoritarianism, newspaper editor Doremus Jessup can't believe it will last - but is he right? This cautionary tale of liberal complacency in the face of populist tyranny shows it really can happen here.

About the Author

Sinclair Lewis was born in 1885 in Minnesota. He attended Yale University and subsequently worked as a reporter and editor. In 1920, he had a major breakthrough with Main Street (1920), which was followed by Babbitt (1922) and many other successful novels. He won the Nobel Prize in 1930 and in 1935 wrote the bestselling It Can't Happen Here, a cautionary tale about the rise of a fascist president in America. He died in Rome in 1951.