The Plot Against America
What if America had elected an isolationist hero in 1940? A Jewish family in Newark finds out.
Philip Roth imagines that Charles Lindbergh, the aviator hero and isolationist, defeats Franklin Roosevelt in the 1940 election and keeps America out of the war. The story is told through the eyes of a young Philip Roth and his Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey, as antisemitism is given official cover and their sense of belonging begins to crumble.
Recommended by 1 Person
Steven Amsterdam
The book stuns through its complete plausibility from a historical angle and the prism of the seven-year-old’s youthful but (unsurprisingly) intelligent perspective. Years after reading it, the broad sweep of the book lingers in my mind as a cautionary tale, as if this was some almost-true alley of history we narrowly avoided.
Interview · November 2012
As an Amazon Associate, bookstoread.org earns from qualifying purchases. Links to Amazon on this page may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Spotted an error on this page? Tell us and we will fix it.