During the impeachment crisis of 2019, Heather Cox Richardson, Ph.D., professor of history at Boston College, launched a daily Facebook essay providing the historical background of the daily torrent of news. It soon turned into a popular Substack newsletter, "Letters from an American," and its subscriber base ballooned to more than two million dedicated readers who rely on her plainspoken and informed take on the present and past in America.

In "Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America," Prof. Richardson crafts a compelling and original narrative, explaining how, over the decades, a small group of wealthy people have made war on American ideals. By weaponizing language and promoting false history they have led us into authoritarianism -- creating a disaffected population and then promising to recreate an imagined past where those people could feel important again. She argues that taking our country back starts by remembering the elements of the nation’s true history that marginalized Americans have always upheld.

Prof. Richardson will be in conversation with Claire Bond Potter, Ph.D., Professor of History Emeritus at The New School for Social Research in New York City, and the author of the "Political Junkie" Substack and an associated podcast, "Why Now?" FREE BOOKS! To be entered into the random drawing for a copy of Democracy Awakening, your address and phone number are REQUIRED. Indicate if you will pick up your book at The Book Stall. Winners will be notified via email within a few days of the event. Personal info will not be shared with others.