Prequel: An American fight against fascism

(Hardback)

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Description

Journalist Rachel Maddow's runaway #1 bestseller, with over 400,000 copies sold, now available in the UK ahead of the 2024 US election. This is the startling story of the fascist plot to overthrow America in WWII - and how the good guys won (eventually...) As Hitler's ascendancy began to make a Second World War inevitable, a clandestine network flooded the United States with disinformation aimed at sapping the strength of its war effort and persuading Americans that their natural alliance was with the Axis. 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 US government and installing authoritarian rule. Some of the country's most influential elected officials, including senators and members of Congress, worked to disseminate Nazi talking points, while fascist paramilitaries stockpiled bombs and weapons in preparation for violent insurrection. Prequel unearths the forgotten story of these insurrectionists, as well as the heroic efforts of the journalists, prosecutors, and regular citizens who sought to expose their plot and bring them to justice. Deeply researched, the story of how the crisis was averted is also a deeply relevant tale for our own disquieting times.

Reviews

A ripping read. . . . The parallels to the present day are strong, even startling * New York Times (Editor's Choice) *
A chilling history lesson... vivid, urgent, smart... Maddow makes clear that the crisis we face today is not new and that this realization should give us hope - because previous generations have faced this threat and overcome it. * Washington Post *

Author Bio

Rachel Maddow is host of the Emmy Award-winning Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, as well as the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drift and Blowout, and the New York Times bestselling co-author of Bag Man. Maddow received a bachelor's degree in public policy from Stanford University and earned her doctorate in political science at Oxford University. She lives in New York City and Massachusetts with her partner, artist Susan Mikula.