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Prequel
- An American Fight Against Fascism
- Narrated by: Rachel Maddow
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
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Enough
- By: Cassidy Hutchinson
- Narrated by: Cassidy Hutchinson
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Ever since a childhood visit to Washington, DC, Cassidy Hutchinson aspired to serve her country in government. Raised in a working-class family with a military background, she was the first in her immediate family to graduate from college. Despite having no ties to Washington, Hutchinson landed a vital position at the center of the Trump White House.
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Pretty good
- By Kim Millar on 25-11-2023
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Tired of Winning
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Packed with new reporting, Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party tracks Trump’s improbable journey from disgraced and defeated former president to the dominant force, yet again, in the Republican Party. From his exile in Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump has become more extreme, vengeful, and divorced from reality than he was on January 6, 2021. His meddling damaged the GOP’s electoral prospects for third consecutive election in 2022. His legal troubles are mounting. Yet he’s re-emerged as the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
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Continuation of a known story
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A Nasty Little War
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Renegade
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Enough
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Ever since a childhood visit to Washington, DC, Cassidy Hutchinson aspired to serve her country in government. Raised in a working-class family with a military background, she was the first in her immediate family to graduate from college. Despite having no ties to Washington, Hutchinson landed a vital position at the center of the Trump White House.
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Pretty good
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Tired of Winning
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Continuation of a known story
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A Nasty Little War
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In the closing months of WW1, with the world exhausted and depleted by a long a brutal war, fifteen nations cobbled together an army of nearly 200,000 men and embarked on one of the most extraordinary and ambitious military ventures of the twentieth century. The Intervention in Russia's civil war was spearheaded by Britain, her colonial forces and allies. It was designed to stop the Bolsheviks in their tracks, reinstate conservative regimes in the Russian Empire and ensure that Germany did not fill the power vacuum which the Russian Revolution had created.
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On January 6, 2021, Donald Trump incited a violent mob to storm the US Capitol in attempts to overturn the presidential election. It was a betrayal of our Constitution, and one of the darkest days in recent history. Yet to former congressman Adam Kinzinger it was also the culmination of a cultural and political rupture he’d long seen coming. Constructive criticism from within the Republican Party was no longer enough. It was time to stand up, even if it meant betraying his own party.
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The Fall
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Democracy Awakening
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Blowout
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Loved it
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Sedition Hunters
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Great listen to help you understand why we’ve gotten to this stage of chaos!
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Publisher's Summary
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.
“A ripping read—well rendered, fast-paced and delivered with the same punch and assurance that she brings to a broadcast. . . . The parallels to the present day are strong, even startling.”—The New York Times
Inspired by her research for the hit podcast Ultra, Rachel Maddow charts the rise of a wild American strain of authoritarianism that has been alive on the far-right edge of our politics for the better part of a century. Before and even after our troops had begun fighting abroad in World War II, a clandestine network flooded the country with disinformation aimed at sapping the strength of the U.S. war effort and persuading Americans that our natural alliance was with the Axis, not against it. It was a sophisticated and shockingly well-funded campaign to undermine democratic institutions, promote antisemitism, and destroy citizens’ confidence in their elected leaders, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the U.S. government and installing authoritarian rule.
That effort worked—tongue and groove—alongside an ultra-right paramilitary movement that stockpiled bombs and weapons and trained for mass murder and violent insurrection.
At the same time, a handful of extraordinary activists and journalists were tracking the scheme, exposing it even as it was unfolding. In 1941 the U.S. Department of Justice finally made a frontal attack, identifying the key plotters, finding their backers, and prosecuting dozens in federal court.
None of it went as planned.
While the scheme has been remembered in history—if at all—as the work of fringe players, in reality it involved a large number of some of the country’s most influential elected officials. Their interference in law enforcement efforts against the plot is a dark story of the rule of law bending and then breaking under the weight of political intimidation.
That failure of the legal system had consequences. The tentacles of that unslain beast have reached forward into our history for decades. But the heroic efforts of the activists, journalists, prosecutors, and regular citizens who sought to expose the insurrectionists also make for a deeply resonant, deeply relevant tale in our own disquieting times.
Critic Reviews
“Maddow’s sublime research into the precursors of current existential threats is astonishingly deep. She finds rabbit holes even rabbits are unaware of.” —Booklist, starred review
“America beat fascism once. Maddow’s timely study of enemies on the homefront urges that we can do so again.” —Kirkus, starred reviews
“Maddow’s book is a ripping read—well rendered, fast-paced and delivered with the same punch and assurance that she brings to a broadcast. . . . Prequel is a valuable window into the authoritarian mind-set—and the process by which self-professed patriots turn against democracy . . . the parallels to the present day are strong, even startling . . .” —The New York Times
What listeners say about Prequel
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 23-11-2023
A history that cannot be ignored
Rachel Maddow's writing shows the same depth of research and understanding as she does on TV. Her ability to pull together the complex threads of an issue, past or present, and present it to her audience with clarity and balance is unmatched. One can only hope that every reader learns from history and heeds Maddow's warning of the future.
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- Rex
- 19-10-2023
The fight to keep democracy alive
Rachel Maddow has morphed from one of the greatest journalists of our times to the most important historian of our times. Some of the research for "Prequel" has already been revealed in Rachel's podcasts, "Ultra." Her new book delves deeper into the Fascist and Nazi past of the U.S. and exposes in detail members of Congress and powerful public figures and industrialists who fought for Fascism with exhilaration. If you believe in American democracy, it is a must read. If you are a Jewish American, it is even more important that you read "Prequel." The rise of antisemitism is overwhelming and has Jews in America and around the world living in fear. "Prequel" spells out exactly why you should be in fear. "Prequel" serves as a warning bell as Fascism, expressed through right-wing ideology and some in the Republican party, is on the rise. I listened to "Prequel" on Audible. It is narrated by Rachel, whose voice comforts me and always has. It was the best 13 hours I have spent in months. "Prequel" is for those who want to learn the unspoken -- and mostly hidden -- history of America during the growth of Fascism around the world. "Prequel" is worthy of a Pulitzer.
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22 people found this helpful
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- Lorraine Petrosky
- 19-10-2023
As good as Ultra was it did not have the time to fill in the historical holes… Prequel does that.
So much history has been hidden from us… as a 74 year old woman our education was so molded that we lost so much.. Rachel filled in those spots that were needed for us to understand and leaves us wondering how in the heck we survived.
Miss Rachel’s nightly show but with the quality projects undertaken it helps to ease the Rachel missing and melancholy.
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19 people found this helpful
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- Carolyn Foster
- 17-10-2023
OMG!!
This book is so interesting, well-read, and informative. Rachel is too awesome for words! She is a GREAT storyteller. You will love this book.
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12 people found this helpful
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- shoesarei
- 20-10-2023
Even better than the podcast!!!
Loved the enlarged and more detailed view of the pre-WWII American fascist movements and the unsung heroes who worked tirelessly to reveal their tentacles in the halls of Congress.
As always, Rachel Maddow is clear, distinct, and thorough in her reporting. This is not only history I was never taught in school but should have been but it is timely in its revelation of how close we have come to authoritarianism before as it’s threat looms before us today. Let’s hope it will not take another massive war to remind us of who we say we are and who we want to be.
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11 people found this helpful
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- preciousstnmtn
- 18-10-2023
NOW I KNOW!!
Let us all open our eyes and heed the warnings. I can see it all happening again.
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11 people found this helpful
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- Sabrina Neumann
- 19-10-2023
Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it!
Everything old is new again, including attempts to thwart democracy. Was an interesting subject matter for a podcast, and equally as interesting as a book. well worth the read.
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6 people found this helpful
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- darbymar
- 20-10-2023
Rachel the educator
Rachel’s research into our nation’s history, relating to today’s political climate is fascinating. I learn so much from reading her books and listening to her podcasts. Rachel reading the book herself is a definite bonus.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Jennifer cahill
- 19-10-2023
Important
Excellent record of a historical period in America that still touches us today. So important for every American to learn this history.
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5 people found this helpful
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- bigbossbookreader
- 20-10-2023
Couldn’t stop
I fully recognize my own partisan feelings and admit my opinions are shaped by these feelings. This book gives substance and reason for them. The fascist movement in America, by any name, hadn’t really changed. The same accusations, the same pontifications, the same rhetoric.
Brava, Rachel Maddow!
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4 people found this helpful
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- Eric Rodriguez
- 19-10-2023
Scary history but ends with hope
I find it really scary that some of my fellow countrymen in the past & some today have these hateful ideas. But I guess the good news is that so far democracy has kept them mostly in check over time. The problem is that they have hurt many people and still do.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 12-11-2023
This should be required reading for all
Thank you for shining a light on a completely forgotten part of modern history. This book is equal parts terrifying and entertaining. The fact that the ultra right still uses the same phrases as talking points 80 years later should give us all pause.
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- D R Thompson
- 10-11-2023
Another Brilliant History
Thank you, Ms Maddow, for your continuing efforts to delve into awkward histories which would otherwise be ignored. A book which will repay further research and study.
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