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Cover of It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

It Can't Happen Here

by Sinclair Lewis

An American dictatorship arrives through elections, promises, resentment, and a leader who insists only he can fix the country.

Published
1935
Shelf rating
4.3

The story, briefly

Spoiler-free

A populist politician wins power through patriotic rhetoric and grievance. By the time the government openly resembles a dictatorship, the public has already accepted its leader.

Why we recommend it

  1. The tyranny that does not announce itself

    Like Orwell's pigs, its leader becomes a tyrant after people have already accepted him.

What this book explores

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Cover of Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm

George Orwell

The animals drive the farmer out and take over the farm. Orwell's 1945 fable is about what happens after that.

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References

References

The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document It Can't Happen Here, its publication, and its place in literary history.

  1. 1It Can't Happen Here — Open Library ISBN catalogue

    Official record
    Open Library, Internet Archive
    Used for

    Open Library ISBN catalogue used to verify the title, ISBN, and publication metadata.

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  2. 2It Can't Happen Here — Google Books edition record

    Official record
    Google Books
    Used for

    Google Books catalogue record used to cross-check the title and edition metadata.

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  1. 3It Can't Happen Here — Internet Archive ISBN catalogue

    Official record
    Internet Archive
    Used for

    Internet Archive ISBN catalogue used to cross-check the edition and its availability in library holdings.

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  2. 4It Can't Happen Here — Library of Congress books catalogue

    Official record
    Library of Congress
    Used for

    Library of Congress books catalogue used to cross-check the bibliographic record by ISBN.

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Why these sources are here

The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.

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