ARTICLE: I Wish This Book Was Fiction, Hard to Believe This Happened in the USA

I actually found time to read four books while we were flying, driving, and hiking our way around New Zealand and Fiji the last 30 days. We got back home a few days ago.   

Three of the four books I read were novels. One is a 2023 best seller and two classics from 50 and 70 years ago.  

But the one that impacted me the most was a non-fiction book by Rachel Maddow, "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism."   

I knew a little bit about some American's support of Hitler and the Nazi regime in the 1930s and early '40s, but had no idea how those supporters had infiltrated our federal government.   

This book reads like fiction. I know Rachel Maddow isn't everyone's cup of tea, and she does come from a somewhat progressive, liberal angle, but if you don't know the extent of the fascist, Hitler-supporting, and anti-Semitic movement in America 80-90 years ago, this is a must-read. It's the non-fiction complement to Philip Roth's novel "The Plot Against America."   

If you don't know of Father Charles Coughlin, or the anti-Semitic bent of what many people consider "great Americans" Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh, or the Nazi rally with 20,000 Hitler supporters at Madison Square Garden in 1939 (February 20th is the 85th anniversary of that event), or who Fritz Kuhn was, or that there was a planned Nazi community in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, in the '30s, complete the Nazi indoctrination summer camps, you may want to read this book.   

Until just a few years ago, I was totally ignorant of this part of American history, I'm embarrassed to admit. And, it seems it's still part of America, just that since the end of World War II until the explosion of social media, it had been pretty well suppressed.   

So, I'm wondering, how much of this were you aware of? Please keep the conversation going by adding a comment below and/or sharing this article with a friend.   

Next time, I'll share my impressions about the three other fiction books ("Hello Beautiful," "The Bridge," and "The Manchurian Candidate") I read on vacation with some recommendations.    

Thanks for reading, 'til next time...