Written during the Great Depression, It Can’t Happen Here, Sinclair Lewis’s novel satirizing American politics, describes the rise of a totalitarian regime in the United States. When Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip is elected president of the United States, he does so by inciting fear and dissent, promising massive economic and social changes in order to regain America’s prominence in the world. Once in office, he moves quickly to gain total control of the government and empowers a ruthless paramilitary force to carry out his rule and suppress all those who stand in his way.
 
Depicting a frightening world where fascism has taken hold in America, Lewis’s novel is a prescient and alarming tale of power, corruption, and how easily democracy can fall prey to manipulation.  Described by the Guardian as “the 1935 novel that predicted the rise of Donald Trump,” It Can’t Happen Here is as timely now as it was when it was first published.