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Did It Happen Here? Perspectives on Fascism in America

Did It Happen Here? Perspectives on Fascism in America

Edited by Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins
Norton, 2024, 384 pp.
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Reviewed by Jessica T. Mathews

March/April 2024Published on
In This Review
Did It Happen Here? Perspectives on Fascism in America

Did It Happen Here? Perspectives on Fascism in America

Edited by Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

Norton, 2024, 384 pp.
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An anthology of classic texts on fascism combined with analyses by contemporary writers on the present situation in the United States, this volume is intended to shed light on what its editor calls "the fascist debate." That debate proceeds on two very different planes. One is principally an academic argument between comparative political scientists and historians about whether there is any merit to comparing the contemporary era of U.S. politics with the early-twentieth-century rise of fascism in Europe. The more compelling debate concerns where U.S. politics now lies on the political spectrum from truly democratic to pre-fascist or outright fascist. (The book was written and edited before the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in late 2023 referred to his political opponents as "vermin" and accused immigrants of "poisoning the blood" of the country, inviting direct comparisons to the rhetoric of Adolf Hitler.) As is true of most edited volumes, the contributions vary greatly. Enough of them are highly informative and thought-provoking to make the book a valuable read for anyone hoping for more insight into the direction of the country.


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