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Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines by [David Pepper]

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David Pepper

Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines Kindle Edition

by David Pepper (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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“It’s the statehouses, stupid.”

Laboratories of Autocracy shows that far more than the high-profile antics of politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Jim Jordan—and yes, even bigger than Donald Trump’s "Big Lie”—it’s anonymous, often corrupt politicians in statehouses across the country who pose the greatest dangers to American democracy.

Because these statehouses no longer operate as functioning democracies, these unknown politicians have all the incentive to keep doing greater damage, and can not be held accountable however extreme they get. This has driven steep declines in states like Ohio and others across the country. And collectively, it’s placed American democracy in its greatest peril since the dawn of the Jim Crow era.

But Pepper doesn’t stop there. He lays out a robust pro-democracy agenda outlining how everyone from elected officials to business leaders to everyday citizens can fight back.

Print length

454 pages
Language

English
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Publication date

October 14, 2021
File size

2270 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"There's a booming literature on the erosion of democracy in America, as well as around the world, but David Pepper's book Laboratories of Autocracy stands out as arguably the most important...[It] provides a wealth of ideas about how to fight back to protect demcracy...This is no armchair account--it reads more like a well-organized set of field notes from battles seen first-hand."
- Paul Rosenberg, Salon

" [A] scorch-ingly good book....Buy his book. Read it. Act on it. Share it. And, as he says, "Resist.""
- Columbus Free Press

Pepper "persuasively argues that the site of the most pernicious corruption and assaults on democracy is not where congressional Republicans roam. It's in the statehouses, which Pepper calls "the most corrosive danger America faces."
- Paul Waldman, The Washington Post

"From my Texas to his Ohio to countless states in between, David Pepper rightly argues that the biggest risk to democracy lies in out-of-control, out-of-touch and undemocratic statehouses that too few people pay attention to. Until we address that root cause--and David suggests many practical steps we can all take--the nation's governance will continue to dangle in the balance. Read this book and spread the word."

- Paul Begala

"If you care about protecting democracy, then you need to know what's happening at the state level. And if you want to know what's happening at the state level, you should read this insightful, alarming and uniquely authoritative book."

- David Litt, New York Times bestselling author and former Obama speechwriter

"America is just awakening to the role played by state legislatures in engineering a hard U-turn back to the worst of our past, and now David Pepper, by using Ohio's sad transformation as his lens, has provided the details on how it's happened, who's behind it, and what can be done. He's performed a scary, but valuable service."

- Brian Alexander, author of The Hospital and Glass House

About the Author

David Pepper is the author of Laboratories of Autocracy (October 2021), as well as four novels, including A Simple Choice (forthcoming Putnam, 2022),and the Jack Sharpe series, including The Voter File, The Wingman, and The People's House. He earned his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School. He has clerked for a judge on the United States Court of Appeals, served in local elected office in Ohio, worked for major law firms, and teaches election and voting rights law. Prior to law school, Pepper worked in St. Petersburg, Russia, for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. He served as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Ohio from 2015-2021. The Wall Street Journal described Pepper "as one of the best political-thriller writers on the scene."

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09JKX9FG7
Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Helena Press (October 14, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 14, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2270 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 454 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1662919573

Best Sellers Rank: #86,059 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #16 in Campaigns & Elections
- #55 in Elections
- #95 in Federal Government

Customer Reviews:
309 ratings

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David Pepper is the author of Laboratories of Autocracy (October 2021), as well as four novels, including A Simple Choice (forthcoming Putnam, 2022),and the Jack Sharpe series, including The Voter File, The Wingman, and The People’s House. He earned his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School. He has clerked for a judge on the United States Court of Appeals, served in local elected office in Ohio, worked for major law firms, and teaches election and voting rights law. Prior to law school, Pepper worked in St. Petersburg, Russia, for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. He served as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Ohio from 2015-2021.

The Wall Street Journal described Pepper "as one of the best political-thriller writers on the scene."

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

309 global ratings

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Matthew

An eye opener for readers

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 2, 2022

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I bought this book after following Mr. Pepper on Twitter for a while. While I liked it was an easy read, Laboratories of Autocracy made me feel disgusted with my government leaders. If you're interested in standing up and being heard at the local, state and federal levels of government, reading this book is a good first step!

One person found this helpful

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Deb

Outstanding!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 16, 2022

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This is a well written book with a load of insightful information. As I've spent the last few years watching various pieces of legislation pass in statehouses in Texas, Florida, Ohio and a few other states, I saw what Pepper referred to in his book. However, it wasn't until I read this book that the pieces fell together...the laboratory. I felt Pepper personally challenging me to pay much closer attention to what my statehouse was doing and in my state of Ohio, I got a live one full week I watched our elected officials redistrict to an even more gerrymandered state, snub our state court system, manipulate the federal court system and make a mockery of democracy.

I've taken a few tips from this book. First, I wrote out my week of watching the redistricting fiasco and emailed it to every Ohioan I knew. Then I began posting on social media snippets of things occurring in the statehouse. (I post something new nearly every week) But what I'm most proud of is that I have focused August-October registering voters. All three are suggestions Pepper gives towards the end of the book.

My first purchase of this book was on my kindle, but I'm purchasing a hard copy to loan out to anyone who wants to read it. There's a line...

10 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Fantastic book raising awareness on bad politics

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 20, 2022

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I learned a lot from this book about the inner working of politics in the US. Having only a limited background in politics/social studies since I'm in medicine I found this book to be eye opening and thought provoking. It's disheartening to read but it's clearly so important. I enjoyed this education!

2 people found this helpful

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Kathryn Blackmond Laskey

important book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 25, 2022

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Well researched. Focuses on Ohio, but lessons apply all across America. Troubling trends, good advice on countering. Worth a read.

One person found this helpful

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Tom G.

Pepper connects the dots

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 6, 2022

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David Pepper’s book provides the clearest explanation I have seen of current threats to American democracy. Pepper shows, with firsthand reports from Ohio and evidence from other states, what is behind the anti-democratic trends toward voter suppression, gerrymandering, and unpopular radical agendas. Pepper connects the dots to show that the threats to American democracy are being orchestrated by organizations with dark money representing wealth and corporate interests. They depend on corrosion and corruption of state and local politicians willing to ignore the interests of the people in their districts. But Pepper maps out a 30-step agenda for Americans to reclaim democracy with resistance at the national, state, and individual level. Make time to read this book.

3 people found this helpful

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Susie

Critical Read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 20, 2022

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This book was eye opening. I have been listening to David Pepper and his white boards on Twitter for a while now and this book succinctly sums up all those lessons. In the end he gives suggestions on how to resist and gives some hope that this isn’t the end of the fight but really a continuation.

One person found this helpful

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Deborah

David Pepper will Open your eyes

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 9, 2022

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This book was written to blow the whistle on our Legislators in our States. The book specifically targets Ohio, but as David Pepper points out...it is happening in most of our United States. He gives direction for how to get involved in your local government...and speak up.
I highly recommend this book for those who are concerned about our voting rights, the crazy laws being enacted and those of you concerned about your rights and your government officials.
If you want to read about how big money is controlling all of us in the US, read this book.

3 people found this helpful

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naturemom

Must Read!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 30, 2022

Verified Purchase

This book is so important in understanding what is happening in statehouses all over the country.
While it focuses heavily on Ohio, where corruption runs deep, it does discuss politics in other states as well. What's happening in Ohio is a warning that all other states should be looking at.
This book explains why it's not so much the national level of politics that will be the undoing of our democracy, but rather the states where it is currently being dismantled and will run over into the national elections.
Scary, but a must read for ALL!

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