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Sinclair Lewis

It Can't Happen Here Paperback – December 1, 1993

by Sinclair Lewis (Author)

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Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Signet
Publication date

December 1, 1993
Dimensions

1 x 4.5 x 7 inches
ISBN-10

0451525825
ISBN-13

978-0451525826
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Novel by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1935. It is a cautionary tale about the rise of fascism in the United States. During the presidential election of 1936, Doremus Jessup, a newspaper editor, observes with dismay that many of the people he knows support the candidacy of a fascist, Berzelius Windrip. When Windrip wins the election, he forcibly gains control of Congress and the Supreme Court, and, with the aid of his personal paramilitary storm troopers, turns the United States into a totalitarian state. Jessup opposes him, is captured, and escapes to Canada. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Signet (December 1, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0451525825
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451525826
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1 x 4.5 x 7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,966,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,184,766 in Literature & Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
542 ratings

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5 star		62%
4 star		23%
3 star		10%
2 star		1%
1 star		4%

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blewis

To close for comfort

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2018

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If I had read It Can't Happen Here, a few years ago, I would thought it an interesting, but most unlikely, just as the title of the book says. I believed that we must remain vigilant, but we were all aware of history and our people would never allow blind worship to affect and infect our political decisions. But as I read the book today, the similarities between the story and our country today is terrifying. This story describes how a country can be influenced by those hungry for power, just as Germany fell for Hitler rhetoric and promises. Feeding on people's fears and frustrations, a charismatic figure can win support, no matter how brutal the philosophy. The book perfectly describes the political situation in our country today. The administration has not yet started murdering citizens who do not call in line with the President, but they are regarded as enemies of the state. Lewis captured Trump's personality in his character Windrip, the man who promises to create a new, better system of government, and those who don't fall under the spell, simply cannot conceive that such a thing can happen. I can't really say I enjoyed it because it's so close to what HAS happened. Read this book and take heed!

41 people found this helpful

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M. Greenleaf

Spoiler--it can.

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2018

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Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 classic is enjoying a revival. It Can’t Happen Here has been a best-seller on Amazon.com, where it has sold out several times since 2016. The stage version has been produced in theatres from Berkeley to Columbus. The novel and the play have been the subject of articles in journals as diverse as the Huffington Post and the National Review.
It Can’t Happen Here chronicles the sudden rise to power of populist candidate Berzilius Windrip, and the fascistic aftermath of his inauguration as President of the United States. The narrative centers around the fictional town of Fort Beulah, Vermont, home of protagonist Doremus Jessup, editor of the local newspaper. At every step of Windrip’s candidacy and election, and the fascist regime that follows, the citizens of Fort Beulah opine, “It can’t happen here.” And at every step they are surprised to see that it can. And does.
The book’s popularity has little to do with its readability. The 400-plus pages of didactic prose can make for a tough read. Still, it's no wonder that Sinclair Lewis’ novel is so popular today. The frightening political backdrop of the story may have its roots in the rise of Hitler in the 1930s, but it lends itself to comparisons to the current political scenario. But such comparisons obscure the story’s underlying message. It Can’t Happen Here is a cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, and how ordinary people, by turning a blind eye to the horrors rising around them, can participate in abhorrent activities and go about their everyday lives. Even in America.
– Missy Ricksecker

10 people found this helpful

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gregg g

Pretty believable, but very depressing

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2020

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I think the most important thing the book shows us is how many times in American history our ideals fall short in actual fact. The author alludes to many times when expediencies interfere with freedom of expression. He also illustrates the time in which the book was written, where the distance between rich and poor was very great, and how that made the ground fertile for a populist demogogue to hijack the government and grow the tree of totalitarianism. It also shows how hard it is to uproot that tree once it has had time to entrench itself in every institution.
While the actions of the main villain of this work are very extreme, it is impossible to read without drawing parallels to the current situation. Of course, the people who read this book already know all that, and the ignorant fools who need to read it probably will not. Most of them would be unable to stand the dated dialogue and old style narrative. My only hope is that the techniques used by the resistance in the book might still work today. However, I have my doubts as to the competence of today's opposition.

3 people found this helpful

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A. Carman

Excellent but scary as hell.

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2020

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Growing up I heard all the time about the dangers of the U.S. going communist but not a word about the possibility of going Fascist/Nazi. Living in Trump works in 2020, this book from 1935 terrified as it promises us, "It CAN happen here." The Windrip administration is shockingly similar to that of Donald Trump and the importance of a free press to oppose patriotic Fascism is vividly illustrated . This book should be required reading.

4 people found this helpful

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Duke of Waiheke

Fearfully Relevant

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2018

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Written in 1935 just after Hitler had taken power in Germany it was intended as a warning to Americans. Unfortunately it can be seen as a "how to" manual for the Alt-Right. This includes instructions that the thugs of the regime wear white shirts and tan trousers to avoid fascist comparisons. Did someone in the Alt-Right read this before sending out instructions for the Alt-Right goons at Charlottesville?

10 people found this helpful

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Andrew from PA.

Excellent and timely story

Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2016

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At a time of political chaos, when Americans are forced to think of fascists, nationalists and extremists from all quarters of the social, political and economic spectrums, this book from the 19 30's is remarkably current. America is in the midst of the great depression, and class, racial and religious divisions prevail. Rumors of war are heard from Europe, and FDR ' S progressive programs have failed. From out of the void, a true demagogue arises, short on substance, but strong on promises and propaganda. Watching the country fall prey to these potential tyrants, the elites and professional s of the status quo, as ll say "it can't happen here." The answer to this question takes the reader across the country, and the results are surprising. A great BOOK FOR Our Times. Highly recommend.

14 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

It's 2016 do you know where your country is?

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2019

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I read this book as a paperback when I was in college. This version is a Large Print version like they have in the library because I'm 73 and my eyes are weak. Sinclair Lewis wrote it as a satire but it really isn't funny and what it says about our politics TODAY is really scary. Art imitates Life, life imitates art. Some of the characters names takes a getting use to, but if you can get beyond that, it's a good read. My thanks to Goodwill for having the book.

7 people found this helpful

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MFD

This is a project gutenberg book, not a genuine issue!!!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2019

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Just bought this today and on opening the first page it tells you right at the top that this edition is a project Gutenberg public domain book. That means it is free and someone has taken something that should no have to be paid for and processed it for selling as a kindle book. Had I known this, I would not have paid for it here. Project Gutenberg books are also of a lesser quality than that you would expect to pay for. Many of them are scanned, often poorly. Poor show reselling something that should be free Amazon. You should actually state right at the top that this isn’t a genuine edition.
The good news is Amazon have refunded the purchase and I think I will pick the paperback up at a genuine bookshop now because there is no saving buying it here. Cheers.

40 people found this helpful

Brougham

More "1984 in 1936" than Trump..

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2017

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The first part of this book obviously has eerie parallels with the present, from the "League of Forgotten Men" to (President) Buzz Windrip's book "Zero Hour" from which excerpts preface each of the early chapters.

Even more impressive is that this was written in 1935/1936, and the author - unlike many other Americans at that time - had no doubt about the nature and intentions of the Hitler and Mussolini regimes, from which Windrip & co. borrow.

It then becomes something grimmer and more horrific, at which it is more of a premonition of WW2 and totalitarian regimes generally and the Trump comparisons are not really apposite.

Generally well-written and exciting, although I sensed that by the end Lewis was getting a bit bored of it and wound things up fairly quickly.

Definitely worth a read, and I was very surprised that this is not a better known or more widely read novel. It predates "1984" by some 12 years, and I wonder if Orwell ever read it.

26 people found this helpful

Robbie Bowen

What Could Happen Here?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2017

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As I read on, the book became more and more compelling. A good depiction and warning of what could happen here, even today.
It is peppered with references to many non-fictional people, many of whom were living at the time of writing; would Lewis have got away with that today, without a libel charge? The Kindle's ability to look up Wikipedia came into its own! An introduction to mid-1930s America, which would have put the book in its context, would have been helpful.
Could it happen here? It certainly portrays a horrific turn of events taken very tamely by the population, yet focusing on fairly "average" people who respond with incredible bravery, while others become instruments of terror.
There are some great quotes that resonate today, (eg "That's why he's such a real Fascist menace - he's so confoundedly humanitarian, in fact so Noble, that the majority of people are willing to let him boss everything" and "the way to stop crime is to stop it"), but I did feel that greater exploration of what drives ordinary decent people to be complicit of such a regime would have been helpful.
To conclude such a book in a realistic way without leaving the reader totally depressed, cannot have been easy, yet Sinclair Lewis achieved this.

18 people found this helpful

Steven Howkins

A pleasant surprise

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2017

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I bought this on a Kindle deal because I wanted to see how it compares with current events. I didn't expect to enjoy it or even finish it.
However it is a very well written book and a very pacey read.

It is also quite frightening. The fictional president in this book is far more plausible than the current incumbent. Each step to totalitarianism seems quite reasonable in isolation until a chilling picture of fascism emerges. The current buffoon in the Whitehouse has come along way already, lets hope he doesn't turn to this book for tips.

19 people found this helpful

Reader

Ripped the text off from Gutenberg - an injustice to a great book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 23, 2019

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Presents itself on Amazon as a professional Kindle version, but appears to have just cut-and-pasted the text from Project Gutenberg (which makes out-of-copyright books available for free). Hasn’t even bothered to format the text properly (e.g. there’s no first line indent for at least some of the direct speech).

This is a travesty of an edition and does damage to the work of an important author. Amazon should be ashamed of hosting this, particularly as the way the store is set up implies this is the Kindle version of the Penguin edition.

If you’re willing to pay for the convenience of a poorly produced and presented edition, this version might be for you. Otherwise, there are good alternatives out there: a genuine, professionally produced, paper copy (whether new or secondhand), or an e-version downloaded for free, direct from the admirable Project Gutenberg.

7 people found this helpful

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