{"product_id":"democracy-awakening-notes-on-the-state-of-america-9780593792612","title":"Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"A vibrant, and essential history of America's unending, enraging and utterly compelling struggle since its founding to live up to its own best ideals... It's both a cause for hope, and a call to arms.\"--Jane Mayer, author \u003ci\u003eDark Money\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom historian and author of the popular daily newsletter LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN, a vital narrative that explains how America, once a beacon of democracy, now teeters on the brink of autocracy -- and how we can turn back. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the midst of the impeachment crisis of 2019, Heather Cox Richardson launched a daily Facebook essay providing the historical background of the daily torrent of news. It soon turned into a newsletter and its readership ballooned to more than 2 million dedicated readers who rely on her plainspoken and informed take on the present and past in America. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eDemocracy Awakening\u003c\/i\u003e, Richardson crafts a compelling and original narrative, explaining how, over the decades, a small group of wealthy people have made war on American ideals. By weaponizing language and promoting false history they have led us into authoritarianism -- creating a disaffected population and then promising to recreate an imagined past where those people could feel important again. She argues that taking our country back starts by remembering the elements of the nation's true history that marginalized Americans have always upheld. Their dedication to the principles on which this nation was founded has enabled us to renew and expand our commitment to democracy in the past. Richardson sees this history as a roadmap for the nation's future. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRichardson's talent is to wrangle our giant, meandering, and confusing news feed into a coherent story that singles out what we should pay attention to, what the precedents are, and what possible paths lie ahead. In her trademark calm prose, she is realistic and optimistic about the future of democracy. Her command of history allows her to pivot effortlessly from the Founders to the abolitionists to Reconstruction to Goldwater to Mitch McConnell, highlighting the political legacies of the New Deal, the lingering fears of socialism, the death of the liberal consensus and birth of \"movement conservatism.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMany books tell us what has happened over the last five years. \u003ci\u003eDemocracy Awakening\u003c\/i\u003e explains how we got to this perilous point, what our history really tells us about ourselves, and what the future of democracy can be.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Random House Large Print Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/26\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593792612\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 456\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLarge Print\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Heather Cox Richardson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43067626291381,"sku":"9780593792612","price":27.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_2966daa8-c78d-4ea4-ac98-1440390a4721.jpg?v=1690861745","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/democracy-awakening-notes-on-the-state-of-america-9780593792612","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}