Chain of Ideas
The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age
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Chain of Ideas
Narrated by:
Ibram X. Kendi
Pre-order for $26.99
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Narrated by:
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Ibram X. Kendi
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By:
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Ibram X. Kendi
About this listen
“[Kendi] has a gift for tracing how historical ideas metastasize into present, real-world damage. . . . Kendi reveals the mechanics behind the myth, and why confronting it is now a democratic necessity.”—Oprah Daily
NAMED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2026 BY: The New York Times, Oprah Daily, LitHub, Foreign Policy, The Millions
Recall the words chanted in Charlottesville, Virginia: “You will not replace us!” Recall the string of mass shooters across the globe—in Oslo, Christchurch, Buffalo, El Paso, and Pittsburgh—who claimed their crimes were a defense against “White genocide.” Recall business and media figures cultivating anxiety and furor over demographic change. These incidents only scratch the surface: Popular and ruling politicians in every region of the world have expressed some version of great replacement theory, eroding democratic norms in the name of preventing demographic change.
The term was coined in 2011 by a French novelist who argued that Black and Brown immigrants were “invading” Europe, brought by shadowy elites to “replace” the White population. From there, politicians and theorists in the United States and elsewhere repackaged it as a story of “globalists” welcoming “migrant criminals” and promoting diversity to take away the jobs, cultures, electoral power, and very lives of White people. Over time, great replacement theory has expanded those under threat to include citizens, men, Jews, Christians, heterosexuals, and ethnic majorities in countries as distinct as Russia, El Salvador, Brazil, Italy, and India, all targeted with the message that they are facing an existential attack that only a strongman can prevent.
In Chain of Ideas, internationally bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi offers an unsettling but indispensable global history of how great replacement theory brought humanity into this authoritarian age—and how we can free ourselves from it.
Critic Reviews
Praise for Chain of Ideas
“…Kendi narrows his scope to the ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theory and then broadens it by tracing the theory’s ties to authoritarianism worldwide.”—The New York Times
“As anti-immigrant sentiment soars around the world, Ibram X. Kendi, the National Book Award-winning historian of racism, charts the rise of the “great replacement” conspiracy theory.”—Foreign Policy
“[Kendi] has a gift for tracing how historical ideas metastasize into present, real-world damage . . . Kendi reveals the mechanics behind the myth, and why confronting it is now a democratic necessity.”—Oprah Daily
“Sure to be bracing.”—Literary Hub
“The National Book Award winner tackles the ‘great replacement theory.’”—The Millions
“An exploration of the arguably premier racist trope of our time . . . A well-formed argument against the fashionably fascist thought that houses old wine in new skins.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A rousing call for solidarity across lines of class and race in order to fight fascism.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Praise for Stamped from the Beginning
“[An] engrossing and relentless intellectual history of prejudice in America.”—The Washington Post
“Blending deep research and analysis with a powerfully intimate and personal voice, [Ibram X.] Kendi . . . grounds his argument in the present moment. . . . Brilliant, complicated and fascinating—Kendi renders this work of intellectual history as compelling as the juiciest biography.”—Los Angeles Times
“…Kendi narrows his scope to the ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theory and then broadens it by tracing the theory’s ties to authoritarianism worldwide.”—The New York Times
“As anti-immigrant sentiment soars around the world, Ibram X. Kendi, the National Book Award-winning historian of racism, charts the rise of the “great replacement” conspiracy theory.”—Foreign Policy
“[Kendi] has a gift for tracing how historical ideas metastasize into present, real-world damage . . . Kendi reveals the mechanics behind the myth, and why confronting it is now a democratic necessity.”—Oprah Daily
“Sure to be bracing.”—Literary Hub
“The National Book Award winner tackles the ‘great replacement theory.’”—The Millions
“An exploration of the arguably premier racist trope of our time . . . A well-formed argument against the fashionably fascist thought that houses old wine in new skins.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A rousing call for solidarity across lines of class and race in order to fight fascism.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Praise for Stamped from the Beginning
“[An] engrossing and relentless intellectual history of prejudice in America.”—The Washington Post
“Blending deep research and analysis with a powerfully intimate and personal voice, [Ibram X.] Kendi . . . grounds his argument in the present moment. . . . Brilliant, complicated and fascinating—Kendi renders this work of intellectual history as compelling as the juiciest biography.”—Los Angeles Times
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