The Plot Against America Book Summary

In 'The Plot Against America', Philip Roth imagines an alternate history where aviation tycoon Charles Lindbergh, a pro-Nazi sympathizer, becomes President of the United States. This unsettling twist sends shockwaves through a Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey, as they navigate the rising tide of anti-Semitism and paranoia. The narrative unfolds through the eyes of young Philip, capturing the tension and fear that permeate their lives amid an America transformed. As loyalties and identities are tested, the story raises profound questions about democracy, tyranny, and the fragility of freedom. Roth's gripping tale is both a haunting exploration of a possible past and a chilling reflection on contemporary society.

By Philip Roth

Published: 2005

"In a time of fear and uncertainty, the lines between reality and fiction blur, and one must wonder: What if our darkest nightmares become the truth?"

Book Review of The Plot Against America

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The chilling bestselling alternate history novel of what happens to one family when America elects a charismatic, isolationist president whose government embraces a folksy anti-Semitism—from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Pastoral. “A terrific political novel.... Sinister, vivid, dreamlike...You turn the pages, astonished and frightened.” —The New York Times Book Review In an extraordinary feat of narrative invention, Philip Roth imagines an alternate history where Franklin D. Roosevelt loses the 1940 presidential election to heroic aviator and rabid isolationist Charles A. Lindbergh. Shortly thereafter, Lindbergh negotiates a cordial "understanding" with Adolf Hitler, while the new government embarks on a program of folksy anti-Semitism.

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In a time of fear and uncertainty, the lines between reality and fiction blur, and one must wonder: What if our darkest nightmares become the truth?

The Plot Against America

By Philip Roth