I wanted to love this book but I really didn’t. I felt like all of the twists and turns in theory made sense, but weren’t set up adequately to feel realistic. I also found this book to emotionally disconnected, which yes fits the main character, but doesn’t work for me. It just made me feel like the book was missing something. I need a book to make me FEEL something, and this didn’t cover a wide enough/deep enough emotional range for me.

Just to clarify: I put that the characters in this book are bad because the main ones are all authoritarians!

This book was really fantastic! I saw that some people didn’t realize it would heavily focus on the US and were disappointed, but if you go in knowing that it does, it’s fabulous. And for everyone who isn’t super connected to US politics, I STILL think it’s a great read. This book discusses the framework behind what makes democracy functional, how extremists subvert it, and how mainstream politicians ought to respond to wannabe authoritarians. The most valuable thing about this book is not its commentary on the US situation but the way it lays out underlying principles that can be applied to the wider world. Its political-theory-light, basically, because it references events you will know or understand easily while making an argument about the nature of democracy. I also felt like this author gave me room to form my own opinions and ponder how something’s that provide stability are still deeply problematic.

Overall, this book got me thinking and I loved it!