readorperish 's review for:

The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It by Corey Brettschneider

4.5

challenging dark hopeful informative tense medium-paced

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I didn’t learn much of what is in this book in my high school government classes. They taught us about the “founding fathers” but I heard little about some of their corruption and flaws. The through line of the five presidents discussed in this book is their attempts at overreach in the name of being imperial leaders trying to suppress dissent, ignore the ongoing discrimination of African Americans, or claiming to be immune to prosecution. People outside the government have had to right the wrongs of Adams, Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Woodrow Wilson, and in those cases, it took years. The fallout from Watergate was never properly resolved because of Gerald Ford’s pardon. Now we have Trump and his supporters pushing the US into authoritarianism and fascism. Social media is the accelerant spreading disinformation. Who are the people outside the three branches of government who will fight for justice? This book provides a roadmap for those brave enough to stand up to modern-day authoritarians.