Summary and Reviews of The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

The Plot Against America

by Philip Roth
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  • First Published:
  • Oct 1, 2004, 400 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Sep 2005, 400 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

This may be alternative history, but it is chillingly and convincingly realistic in its portrayal. The reader watches, horrified yet totally absorbed, as America spirals down the path toward fascism.

When the renowned aviation hero and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh defeated Franklin Roosevelt by a landslide in the 1940 presidential election, fear invaded every Jewish household in America. Not only had Lindbergh, in a nationwide radio address, publicly blamed the Jews for selfishly pushing America toward a pointless war with Nazi Germany, but upon taking office as the thirty-third president of the United States, he negotiated a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, whose conquest of Europe and virulent anti-Semitic policies he appeared to accept without difficulty.

What then followed in America is the historical setting for this startling new book by Pulitzer Prize-winner Philip Roth, who recounts what it was like for his Newark family — and for a million such families all over the country — during the menacing years of the Lindbergh presidency, when American citizens who happened to be Jews had every reason to expect the worst.

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Reviews

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Good alternate fiction has the effect of waking one from complacency, because it shows us how the lives that we live (and on the whole take for granted) are a result of an endless series of events through history; and if any single one of these events had been different the world we live in would be different.  The logical extrapolation from this is that if such a small change in the past could have such radical consequences, what of the endless decisions made daily by governments and individuals today - what path are they leading us down, and is it the best path?  

The Plot Against America is just such a book.  Aviation hero, and vocal Aryan supremacist, Charles Lindbergh defeats Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential election on a peace-with-Hitler platform, because the majority of voters fear that FDR plans to bring the US into the war in Europe.  Emboldened by Lindberg's win, America spirals down into fascism as isolationists in and out of government across the country enact new laws and create an atmosphere of hate that results in nationwide pogroms paralleling events in Europe. ..continued

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Beyond the Book



Interesting Links: If you're interested in knowing more about Lindbergh's life and how it actually panned out, during the war and up to his death in 1974, you might find these two sites of interest:
CharlesLindbergh.com (a hobby site) and PBS.org.

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