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It Can't Happen Here
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
133 posts | 71 read | 7 reading | 194 to read
The only one of Sinclair Lewis's later novels to match the power of Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith, It Can't Happen Here is a cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. Written during the Great Depression when America was largely oblivious to Hitler's aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a President who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, rampant promiscuity, crime, and a liberal press. Now finally back in print, It Can't Happen Here remains uniquely important, a shockingly prescient novel that's as fresh and contemporary as today's news."Written at white heat." Chicago Tribune"A message to thinking Americans." Springfield Republican"Not only [Lewis's] most important book but one of the most important books ever produced in this country." The New Yorker
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Morr_Books
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Pickpick

Finished my 4th book of the 24-hour readathon. I'm glad I read this, but this political satire is alarmingly realistic and scary. I wonder if Sinclair Lewis had a crystal ball to look into the future or if human nature just that predictable... @DeweysReadathon #readathon #deweyoct #litsylovereads

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Morr_Books
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Almost halfway thru the 24-hour readathon. Wish I would have completed more books by now, but I did get to go on a lengthy #audiowalk . @DeweysReadathon #readathon #deweyoct

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QBub
It Can't Happen Here | Lewis Sinclair
Pickpick

Oh, yes it could. It almost did, and it still might.

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Gina
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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When I placed my book down the pages flopped over my book light and turned it into a glowing book! It gave off such a serene vibe I just had to capture the moment...

Nute Totally cool! 4y
Gina @Nute awwww thanks 4y
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Gina
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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So what would a imitation celluloid ivory tower look like, I wonder?...

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Gina
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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"Heaven's kitchen sink"... I like that♡

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Gina
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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It's kinda creeping me out how spot on this 1935 book is to what is happening right now...

JamieArc I read it maybe a year ago and it creeped me out to. There were several parts that were just way too specifically accurate to present times. 4y
Gina Right! Just WoW! 4y
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Gina
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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That mind blowing moment when life imitates art... Yikes!

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Gina
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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When your lap needs to be big enough for both your loves♡

Sleepswithbooks Precious 🥰 4y
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Gina
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Isn't that interesting...

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BookmarkTavern
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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We‘re heading to dystopias today.

1. Nope! I was supposed to be doing a reread with my youngest sister of The Handmaid‘s Tale this year, but it‘s feeling a little too real right now.
2. Tagged, and not strictly dystopian, but there‘s an uncomfortable level of prescience in this one.
3. Hope. For the hope of people who fight back against terrible odds, the hope of turning a country to empathy and community.

Don‘t forget to tag me! #sundayfunday

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BookNik
It Can't Happen Here | Lewis Sinclair
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Godmotherx5
It Can't Happen Here | Lewis Sinclair
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We had a fun day checking out two different bookstores today. This was Renaissance Books in the Mitchell Airport. The other was Boswell Books in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The tagged book was one of my purchases. #airportfinds #mitchellairport #usedbooks

UwannaPublishme 😍👍🏻 5y
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flying_monkeys
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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“NOW is a fact that cannot be dodged.”

#QuotsyMar19 #procrastinate @TK-421

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ladyonequestion
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Pickpick

The back cover. Starts out as a usual satirical novel but becomes more and more chilling as the president sets up an amateur militia of people who feel powerless and give them the power to torture anyone they disagree with, send them to concentration camps and burn books. Doremus initially writes articles for them under duress, but then becomes a resistance fighter. This is terrifying because it seems real.

vlwelser 💖 this book. It's also freakishly accurate. 5y
Lcsmcat I read this right after the2016 election and it was frighteningly relevant. 5y
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Amiable
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Pickpick

An alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. The book details the chillingly realistic rise of a president who becomes a dictator to “save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press.” Sound familiar? Written during the Great Depression, but incredibly relevant to what is happening in America today. 4.5 stars.

abbielistenstobooks I just grabbed this from the library last night! Looking forward to reading it. And also, not looking forward to reading it. 5y
MelissaSue81 This has been on my list. Let‘s see if I still feel up to reading it after tonight‘s results. 5y
Amiable @abbielistenstobooks and @MelissaSue81 I know exactly how both of you feel. 😳 5y
See All 6 Comments
abbielistenstobooks @Amiable I'm alternately terrified and ostriching. I have very little hope - less hope than ever before in the 26 years I've been voting :((( 5y
Amiable @abbielistenstobooks I miss hope. Hope was great. Sigh. What frightens me most, actually, is how numb I've become in the past two years. Literally nothing surprises me anymore. 5y
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Chereekag
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Well. Damn.

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JamieArc
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Pickpick

It took 6 weeks, but I‘m glad to have read this. And I‘m SO glad I‘m finished. Too relevant. Can‘t wait to get to something light and not so much like the world we live in right now.

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JamieArc
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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1. I always love Anne Hutchinson references. I have a fascination with her.
2. Apparently wanting to move to Canada when crazy leaders come to power in the US is not a new thing 😂😂
3. I feel like I‘m reading a work of fiction about our current times. It‘s making me 😳😳😳

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Laura317
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Pickpick

WOW! What a gripping, terrifying book! I read it as a cautionary tale of what could happen. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I wonder if this has ever been made into a movie?

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Laura317
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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“He simply could not believe that this comic tyranny could endure. “

Bklover Ummmmm.... yep, it can!! 6y
LauraBeth Well this feels very relevant! 6y
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Laura317
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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This is a good book, but it is a difficult read. I keep finding myself wanting to take breaks from it. It certainly feels very modern!

zsuzsanna_reads I loved Babbitt and Main Street, so I'll have to check this out. 6y
JamieArc I‘m on page 80, just read the 13 points proposed, and got really furious. Had to stop and remind myself this is fiction! (edited) 6y
Laura317 @zsuzsanna_reads This is my first Sinclair Lewis, but won‘t be my last! 6y
Laura317 @JamieArc Oh just wait! Those are just the tip of the iceberg. Infuriating for sure! 6y
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Laura317
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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I can‘t wait to start this! Someone on here recommended this, but I am ashamed to say I can‘t remember who. Curling up with this, my Mickie D‘s tea and the high school football game on in the background. Go, Dragons!!

Faibka On my TBR! Looking forward to your thoughts on it :) 6y
Libby1 It might have been me! I read it July 2017. I remember it fondly but it wasn‘t an easy read. I have thought of it often over the last year. I hope you‘ll like it. 6y
JamieArc I started this recently! I had to put it down to finish another book but really looking forward to picking it back up in the next day or so! 6y
Laura317 @Faibka So far, it is really good. @Libby1 I think it may have been you! I noticed I liked your post on it. @JamieArc 👍🏼 6y
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The_Porgularity
It Can't Happen Here | Lewis Sinclair
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Only a few chapters in. Already it's too relatable.

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Guildedearlobe
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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I mostly tolerated required reading in HS until I can get my hands on A Stephen King or Dean Koontz book. In college as political science major I had to read It Can‘t Happen Here. It‘s now one of my favorites and scarily timely. Once Lewis got into a public fight with an author who he accused of plagiarism and got slapped many times. He also attempted to run away when he was 13 to join the Spanish America war but dad caught him. #agameoffavorites

Dogearedcopy 🎧 And did you know G. narrated it a couple of years ago? 🙂 6y
Amiable I read this last year and it scared the 💩 out of me with how prescient it was. 6y
Guildedearlobe @Dogearedcopy I didn‘t. I‘ll have to check it out. 6y
Geeklet I just finished this one a couple of months ago. It was boring for the first 100 so pages and then it became terrifying. I loved it. 6y
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Geeklet
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Pickpick

This book felt like a rollercoaster. The first 100 or so pages were difficult to read. The vocabulary is, naturally, a little out of date and the story moved slowly. However, the book really takes off around page 133. The pacing greatly improves and you‘re filled with a lot of complicated emotions while reading it. It‘s definitely worth dedicating yourself to getting through the slow parts.

RaimeyGallant Nice review! 6y
Geeklet @RaimeyGallant Thanks! I‘m trying to improve those skills. It‘s an uphill battle, lol. 6y
13 likes2 comments
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Geeklet
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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I‘m getting some long distance love from my girl Gravy. It‘s hard to concentrate with this intense staring.

#dogsoflitsy

LiteraryinLawrence That is the true epitome of puppy dog eyes. 💜 6y
Geeklet @LiteraryinLititz She‘s a booger all right. She‘s a super sweet dog. Gravy came from a shelter and her sister Biscuit is a street dog that came too close to our office dumpster. They‘re great dogs. 6y
knittedgnome Lol! Poor baby!! 6y
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Geeklet
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis

Oh good. It only took 133 pages before the book turned from painful reminder to a fictional story.

Seriously though, this book is fairly terrifying.

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Geeklet
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis

Errggg....man, this cuts pretty close to home.

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Geeklet
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis

It was a town of perhaps ten thousand souls, inhabiting about twenty thousand bodies.

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underthebelljar
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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So I started this book recently.. Oh my, is the narrator sassy!

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BookBabe
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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#BookNBrunch! Brunch on a Thursday? Why not? 😊 A yummy fried egg sandwich with 3 melted cheeses, on toasted peasant bread, and a cup of vanilla caramel coffee. Mmmmm! 😋 P.S. Check out the fog! I‘m tempted to go for a walk to admire and photograph it...just a little worried about getting run over due to the low visibility, lol.

Zelma Something about the fog and Poe mug seem perfect together. (edited) 6y
BookBabe @Zelma Right? I actually chose my mug based on the fog. 😂 6y
Zelma @BookBabe ha, great minds think alike! 👏😉 6y
ErinGoBragh1011 We are mug twins! I own the same one. 6y
102 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Carolyn11215
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis

Seems like a very timely book and Kindle version on sale today 2/17/18 for 1.99. Just snapped one up.

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PagesOfKate
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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batsy This sounds like a must-read. That's an excellent cover. 6y
Cinfhen 💔 6y
47 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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PixieDust
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis

I bailed I didn‘t like this

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Ksvz
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
Pickpick

2017 #164

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vlwelser
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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I just made a best of page in my journal. These are the ones I gave ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ratings this year. The colors are format and where they came from. They are in order by finished date.

DivaDiane That‘d a great list. I haven‘t read any of those books! I‘m rather stingy with my 5stars. It has to be really mega-amazing to get 5 from me. 6y
vlwelser @DivaDiane Maybe you should try some of these. I also read 184 books so far this year, so there had to be some. My list of 3s and 4s would be much longer. 6y
DivaDiane @vlwelser ahaha! Ok, well those statistics seem more rational then! Still a good book year, eh? 6y
Chelleo Loving the color coding! 6y
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mklong
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Mehso-so

Well, that was dark. Written in 1935, this novel imagines the rise of fascism in the United States, and challenges the notion that such totalitarianism is for other countries and couldn't happen here. As a cautionary tale, this is frighteningly prescient. As a novel, especially in terms of structure and tone, it‘s kind of a mess. Whether or not you should read it, sort of depends on which of those you are looking for.

RebelReader I have this one on my TBR shelves. Probably won't make the "read me now" cut. 6y
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Zoe_reads_books
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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I‘m only two chapters in and already, this is hitting way too close to home.

mklong This is my book club‘s pick for December. I am both excited about, and dreading, reading it. 6y
23 likes1 comment
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2BR02B
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Best of the Left Podcast put this book on my radar after including clips from Ideas from the CBC's American Fascism episode (listen here: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/american-fascism-it-can-t-happen-here-1.3824591) on their Understanding Authoritarianism episode. Eight months into the nascent apocalypse, which books are helping you cope with Trump's America lately?

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Babs_book_obsession
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
Pickpick

Political satire published way back in 1935 and terrifyingly relevant today. It took a while to hook me but I really enjoyed it once I got into it.

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MCYmermaid
It Can't Happen Here | Lewis Sinclair
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:: sigh :: ETA San Diego CVA vigil photo.

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Nerdfins
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Pickpick

What I had to put up with while trying to finish this book. Lots of bits seemed eerily prophetic of things that are happening today. So much that if I attend a protest I may make a sign with a picture of this cover and writing "NOT AN INSTRUCTION BOOK." #catsoflitsy

TheBookStacker Lol my cat bites my books while I read too, he hates that they take away his attention! 7y
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Nerdfins
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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I'm almost done with this book, and this is how I picture Emma Jessup.

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wightwarren
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Just starting a new book. This seems creepily modern.

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Nerdfins
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Well this makes reading a bit difficult. #catsoflitsy

DaviBooktrovert My cat grabs my hand with her paw and if ignore her she bites and/or kicks me -_- 7y
Nerdfins @DaviBooktrovert Can't ignore our feline overlords! My senior cat Loki will gently paw your arm or leg for pets. Luna, pictured here, is a kitten who is teething apparently. My poor fingers... 7y
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Nerdfins
It Can't Happen Here | Lewis Sinclair
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Pancakes time! 🥞☕️#tea

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Libby1
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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Pickpick

Let the major book hangover ensue.

I will be blunt. This book is hard work. It is challenging and dense and often confusing, but frighteningly, presciently brilliant.

I took this photo two weeks ago at a market in Spain. This t-shirt was on the €3 table.

Is democracy overrated? Can it be bought and sold? How far and in what way do we fight for freedom? These are important questions to ask during these times.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Libby1
It Can't Happen Here | Sinclair Lewis
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I had a beautiful place to read tonight.

Newcastle, County Down, #NorthernIreland

EvieBee What a beautiful picture! 7y
saresmoore Ooh, this is gorgeous! 7y
Ms_T 😃❤️ 7y
52 likes3 comments