Recommended Reading
In addition to reading or watching the news (or avoiding it), it's important to understand what is happening in the United States from historical and psychological perspectives. History and psychology books offer benefits beyond mere information gathering, creating more informed citizens who can better navigate today's complex political and social landscape. Books also provide essential context for current events that news coverage alone cannot deliver.
Historical knowledge also serves as a warning system. In today's polarized American landscape, understanding historical instances of democratic backsliding, authoritarianism, or social progress can help citizens recognize dangerous patterns and work to prevent negative outcomes.
Psychology books complement historical understanding by illuminating the human factors driving political and social behavior. They help explain why individuals and groups act as they do during times of uncertainty or conflict.
Heather Cox Richardson, renowned historian
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder is a concise yet powerful guide offering practical advice on how to resist authoritarianism and protect democracy. Published in 2017, the book draws lessons from 20th-century European history, particularly the rise of fascism and communism, to provide insights relevant to contemporary political challenges.
Snyder presents 20 brief lessons, each supported by historical examples, ranging from "Do not obey in advance" to "Believe in truth." He emphasizes the importance of individual action, institutional integrity, and critical thinking in preserving democratic values. The book warns against complacency, highlighting how quickly democracies can fall to tyranny if citizens fail to remain vigilant.
Key themes include resisting anticipatory obedience, defending institutions, maintaining professional ethics, and being wary of paramilitaries. Snyder also stresses the importance of supporting a free press, investigating facts, and standing out against conformity.
While initially written in response to Donald Trump's presidency, the book's lessons remain broadly applicable to any potential authoritarian threat. Snyder's work serves as both a historical analysis and a call to action, urging readers to actively participate in safeguarding democracy.
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them by Jason Stanley analyzes how fascist politics divides societies by creating a sharp distinction between “us” and “them,” exploiting ethnic, religious, or racial differences to consolidate power.
Stanley identifies ten mechanisms that fascist politicians use, each explored in a chapter: mythologizing a glorious past, deploying propaganda, attacking intellectualism, fostering unreality, naturalizing social hierarchies, cultivating a sense of victimhood among dominant groups, weaponizing “law and order” rhetoric, stoking sexual anxieties, demonizing cosmopolitanism, and glorifying the “producer” class while disparaging unions and minorities.
Fascist leaders, according to Stanley, undermine reasoned debate by spreading conspiracy theories, manipulating language, and normalizing what was once intolerable, thus eroding democratic norms. They present themselves as protectors of national purity and tradition, often by scapegoating out-groups and portraying themselves as victims when their dominance is challenged. Stanley argues that these tactics are not unique to any one era or country but recur wherever democracy is threatened by extreme nationalism and authoritarianism.
Ultimately, Stanley’s book serves as a warning: fascist politics thrives in times of social upheaval and inequality, using fear and division to dismantle liberal democracy from within. By recognizing these patterns, citizens can better resist the normalization of fascist tactics in contemporary politics.
Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America examines the historical and ongoing struggle between two competing visions of American democracy: one advocating for equality, pluralism, and government intervention to protect rights, and the other favoring individualism, limited government, and hierarchical power structures. Richardson traces how a small group of elites has historically undermined democratic ideals by distorting history and fostering division, culminating in modern authoritarian movements.
The book is divided into three parts:
- Undermining Democracy: Richardson explores how American democracy has been challenged since its founding, highlighting the paradox of a nation built on equality while sustaining systemic inequality. She discusses pivotal moments, such as Nixon's Southern Strategy and Reagan-era conservatism, which amplified these tensions.
- The Authoritarian Experiment: This section focuses on recent political developments, particularly the Trump presidency, which Richardson describes as an authoritarian experiment. She draws parallels to historical fascism and critiques the erosion of democratic norms during this period.
- Reclaiming America: Ending on a hopeful note, Richardson emphasizes the resilience of marginalized groups who have consistently fought to expand democracy. She argues that collective action across racial, gender, and class lines is essential to counter authoritarianism and renew America's commitment to its founding principles.
Richardson’s narrative connects past and present, showing how history informs current challenges. She ultimately calls for renewed faith in democracy through unity and active participation, reminding readers that the future of democracy lies in their hands.
Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism by Anne Applebaum examines the global decline of liberal democracy and the rise of authoritarian populism. Published in 2020, the book begins with a personal anecdote about a New Year's Eve party Applebaum hosted in Poland in 1999, where many guests were centrist political figures who later became divided—some embracing right-wing authoritarianism while others remained democratic.
Applebaum explores how intellectuals (whom she calls "clercs") betray democratic values to support authoritarian regimes in Poland, Hungary, Britain, and the United States. She argues that these individuals are motivated not by economic distress but by career ambition, revenge against perceived slights, and cultural despair.
The book analyzes how authoritarian movements employ "soft dictatorship" tactics—replacing civil servants with loyalists, manipulating media, and using conspiracy theories to polarize society. Applebaum identifies key elements in democratic decline: nostalgia for an idealized past, the appeal of simple solutions to complex problems, and social media's role in spreading disinformation.
Rather than offering optimism, Applebaum presents her work as a warning about democracy's fragility and the eternal appeal of authoritarianism.
The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels by Jon Meacham is a historical examination of America's cyclical struggles between hope and fear. Published in 2018, the book argues that while America's current political climate may seem uniquely divisive, the nation has repeatedly faced and overcome similar periods of turmoil throughout its history.
Meacham explores pivotal moments when the "better angels of our nature" (a phrase from Lincoln) prevailed against forces of hatred and division. He examines the Civil War, Reconstruction, the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, McCarthy's anti-Communist witch hunts, and the civil rights movement, among others.
The book profiles influential leaders and activists who helped guide America through dark periods, including presidents like Lincoln, Grant, both Roosevelts, Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson, alongside figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
While acknowledging that America's story hasn't always been heroic, Meacham offers a reassuring message that the nation has consistently found its way through previous darkness. He concludes with practical advice for citizens: engage in civic life, resist tribalism, respect facts, find balance, and remember history's lessons.
"History is a vast early warning system."
—Norman Cousins, political journalist, author, professor
