natalie10179's review

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informative reflective tense slow-paced

5.0

abbygee's review

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3.75

theoretically this gets a 4.5, practically i think im done with the nonfiction for a bit

hnfive's review

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5.0

Such an important book. A quick read that’s really accessible and we should all read this and we should all care. Vote.

therat8's review

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

fabrice44's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is a special one as it is the first one I found thanks to my wife. And it's a solid 5 stars. It shed lights on some US politic mechanism that I've found weird - the superdelegate of the democrat party - and gave an explanation about the extreme polarization of US party that I've never heard before.

The book is very well written and easy to read. It's an excellent material to start a sane debate on how to improve politics.

I think a good follow up book for this one would be : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11324722-the-righteous-mind

The part of this book I disagreed was the author opinion about having an ID to vote. According to him, it's a threat to democracy. To me, it's is not that shocking that, to be able to vote, you should have a government ID. It's already the case in France. I don't really see why it prevent low income citizen to go to vote. The book even mention that it didn't see a lower voter turnout when state moved to ask an ID to vote.

Excellent book nevertheless.

gskmaple25's review

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dark medium-paced

4.0

transplanteddesertrose's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative fast-paced

5.0

A must read for any American concerned about ideological polarization. Exposes the weaknesses of our constitution, the markers of authoritarian behavior, and the informal norms that have stabilized American government. 

polijus1's review

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4.0

Picked up this book because I needed to learn about democracy, and this was not the right book for learning the fundamentals of democracy. This book delves into different instances where democracies are overthrown by, e.g. tyrants, reflecting through historical accounts of how said democracy is overthrown. What makes this book interesting is how easy it was written even for a layperson like me

jmmcand's review

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5.0

An excellent read that takes a realistic and balanced analysis on our democracy.

wickedmitch's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a solid overview of the factors contributing to democratic backsliding and how it can be resisted. I don’t, however, agree with all the prospective solutions outlined (sometimes you do have to play dirty in a rigged game).