Democracy Awakening

Notes on the State of America

By: Heather Cox Richardson

Narrated by: Heather Cox Richardson

A New York Times Bestseller

A vital and urgent call to action about the precarious state of American democracy, charting its historical challenges and current threats, from one of our era’s most important and insightful historians, with a new afterword by the author.

“Magisterial.”–The Washington Post

“An excellent primer for anyone who needs the important facts of the last 150 years of American history–and how they got us to the sorry place we inhabit today.”–Guardian

At a time when the very foundations of American democracy seem under threat, the lessons of the past offer a road map for navigating a moment of political crisis. In Democracy Awakening, acclaimed historian Heather Cox Richardson delves into the tumultuous journey of American democracy, tracing the roots of Donald Trump’s “authoritarian experiment” to the earliest days of the republic. She examines the historical forces that have led to the current political climate, showing how modern conservatism has preyed upon a disaffected population, weaponizing language and promoting false history to consolidate power.

With remarkable clarity and the same accessible voice that brings millions to her newsletter, Letters from an American, Richardson wrangles a chaotic news feed into a story that pivots effortlessly from the Founders to the abolitionists to Nixon to the January 6 insurrection. An essential listen for anyone concerned about the state of America, Democracy Awakening is more than a history book; it’s a call to action. Richardson reminds us that democracy requires constant vigilance and participation from all of us, showing how we, as a nation, can take the lessons of the past to secure a more just and equitable future.

©2023 Heather Cox Richardson (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

The Washington Post's "50 Best NonFiction Books of 2023"

Kirkus Review's "2023 Best NonFiction Books of the Year"

“[Democracy Awakening] is the most lucid just-so story for Trump’s rise I’ve ever heard. It’s magisterial.”–Virginia Heffernan, Washington Post

“Necessary U.S. history ... an excellent primer for anyone who needs the important facts of the last 150 years of American history–and how they got us to the sorry place we inhabit today.”–Guardian US

“Heather Cox Richardson’s Democracy Awakening is an important addition to the burgeoning literature and scholarship on what I have characterized as America’s Third Reconstruction…she is at her best simply telling us the story of how we came to be living on the brink of ending our nearly 250-year democratic experiment.”–Peniel Joseph, Democracy

Great book! I know I’m going to read it again.

Fascinating book, it refreshed my memory on history and covered details both current and historical that I’d forgotten . More importantly, Heather Cox Richardson made the connections between people and events that I overlooked. Great narration! A really impressive and important book don’t miss it.

A fascinating and critical read.

"Democracies die more often through the ballot box than at gunpoint.”

Democracy Awakening is a phenomenal book, critical to our understanding of U.S. History and the history of U.S. Politics - as compelling as it is exasperating. A must read if we wish to improve today's political climate. We have often heard “Those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it.”, this book explains why and leads the way.

"Authoritarians rise when economic, social, political, or religious change makes members of a formerly dominate powerful group feel as if they've been left behind. Their frustration makes them vulnerable to leaders who promise to make them dominate again." *Sound familiar? Angry white men yelling, "Make America Great Again”? This phrase is not new to American politics, it was a slogan in Ronald Regan’s campaign to resist women working outside the home and resist black and brown people from voting and criticize the “liberal media”. Anyone else having flashbacks?

Now, as before, a small group of people are continually trying to convince citizens in our country that our fundamental principles are not true. The elimination of the Fairness Doctrine opened up our regulated media and allowed the reporting of unbalanced information as fact, and biased talk radio began. #wordsmatter (The Fairness Doctrine mandated broadcast networks devote time to contrasting views on issues of public importance. It was repealed under the Regan Administration in 1985.)

Heather Cox Richardson’s command of history enables her to explain how we got here and enables 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.”

A fascinating and critical read. Heather Cox Richardson is a historian and the author of what began as a facebook newsletter and is now a wildly read newletter, known as “Letters From An American”, with over 2 million readers. She warns that we are on the brink of an autocracy, while at the same time giving us hope with ideas of what we can to do to turn our country around, back to a democratic nation. The critical importance of Richardson’s newletter is in her ability to break down the news and lay down the various contradictory and confusing news feeds explaining what we should pay attention to, what the precedents are, and what possible paths lie ahead. Democracy Awakening offers us not just understanding, but hope. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

They way history should be taught

History should be taught with open minded, honest clarity like this. I wish anything that I had learned in the public school system had given me this kind of insight.

Please read this book.

This thoughtful analysis of our country’s history and its current perilous situation offers hope of avoiding the peril of losing our democracy. We can keep on working toward a more perfect union, but that goal is being seriously challenged.

Our History med Personal and Relevant

Heather Cox Richardson explains our nation’s history with clarity,
Such an important book, during a critical time in our country. This book is full of so much information, and she tells it in a way that even I can understand.

Required reading!

I wish every citizen of our country could read this book. Heather Cox Richardson is a national treasure.

Democracy Awakening

In the last few years, we have seen threats to our democracy. Indeed, some of them are so subtle that they go unnoticed. One of the best things we can do as citizens is to learn more about our democracy. To learn about its origins, and how it developed can give us information on how to protect it. Professor Richardson gives a concise and succinct history that can only help but to frame the important issues facing us today in a way that we can all understand. This book truly should be required reading for all of us.

So very important and fascinating

This in-depth breakdown of how we have arrived at this flashpoint in our history is critically important for every American to learn.

Outstanding!

Thank you Heather! You have been a National Treasure for these last 7 years! I’m in your debt! And so is my sanity!

A must to hear.

We all need to better understand how our country was formed and how we got to where we are.