Description

“When Gessen speaks about autocracy, you listen.” —The New York Times

“A reckoning with what has been lost in the past few years and a map forward with our beliefs intact.” —Interview

Featured on MSNBC’s *Morning Joe* and NPR’s *All Things Considered*, this bestselling book by National Book Award–winning journalist Masha Gessen is an essential resource for understanding, resisting, and recovering from the turmoil of recent years.

In this sharp and insightful work, Gessen examines the devastating erosion of American democracy, drawing from their unique background—growing up in the Soviet Union and spending decades reporting on the resurgence of totalitarianism in Russia. With this perspective, Gessen possesses a remarkable ability to recognize and explain the warning signs of autocracy, helping American readers grasp its creeping influence.

Gessen not only dissects the weakening of institutions and cultural norms that many hoped would safeguard democracy but also illustrates how, in a few short years, Americans shifted from identifying as a nation of immigrants to fiercely debating the construction of a border wall. The book explores how truth, meaning, and possibility have been diminished in the process.

*Surviving Autocracy* serves as both a record of these troubling changes and a call to hold those responsible accountable. At the same time, it is a guide toward recovery—offering insight into how to rebuild and create hope for the future.