Traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis. Inspired by her research for the hit podcast Ultra, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the far-right edge of our politics for the better part of a century.
Maddow focuses on the eve of World War II, when homegrown fascists sought to create an American Reich ... A ripping read — well rendered, fast-paced and delivered with the same punch and assurance that she brings to a broadcast. Perhaps, at times, too much punch: Her writing often tends toward the knowing wisecrack, the elbow in the ribs ... Valuable.
Vivid, urgent, smart ... Maddow sticks to history. She doesn’t draw out the connections to the present moment but rather lets the through lines emerge organically. Many of those parallels will be obvious to those who’ve studied recent developments in white-power movements and similar groups. But in my view, Maddow’s decision to not overexplain those connections reflects both a trust in the capacity of her readers and a sense that knowing this history will illuminate the way that fascist and authoritarian threats appear in our society in the present day. Prequel is a valuable and compelling work of the history of the present, looking at the past to understand where we are — and to locate possibilities for action that we might not otherwise have seen.
here’s a focused awe in discovering something historic that has contemporary relevance, and Maddow’s sublime research into the precursors of current existential threats is astonishingly deep. She finds rabbit holes even rabbits are unaware of, conveying her wonderment with a jaunty 'hey, look at this' enthusiasm. Yet for all her geeky ardor, there is a countervailing solemnity. Maddow wants her audience to pay attention, for failing to do so is to repeat history’s close calls, or worse.
