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Erasing History

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Erasing History

By: Jason Stanley
Narrated by: Dion Graham
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From the bestselling author of How Fascism Works, a global call to action that tells us “why the past is a frontline in the struggle for a future free of fascism” (Jeff Sharlet, New York Times bestselling author) as it reveals the far right’s efforts to rewrite history and undo a century of progress on race, gender, sexuality, and class.

In the United States, democracy is under attack by an authoritarian movement that has found fertile ground among the country’s conservative politicians and voters, but similar movements have found homes in the hearts and minds of people around the globe. To understand the shape, form, and stakes of this assault, we must go back to extract lessons from our past.

In authoritarian countries, critical examination of those nations’ history and traditions is discouraged if not an outright danger to those who do it. And it is no accident that local and global institutions of education have become a battleground, where learning and efforts to upend a hierarchal status quo can be put to end by coercion and threats of violence. Democracies entrust schools and universities to preserve a common memory of positive change, generated by protests, social movements, and rebellions. The authoritarian right must erase this history, and, along with it, the very practice of critical inquiry that has so often been the engine of future progress.

In Erasing History, Yale professor of philosophy Jason Stanley exposes the true danger of the authoritarian right’s attacks on education, identifies their key tactics and funders, and traces their intellectual roots. He illustrates how fears of a fascist future have metastasized, from hypothetical threat to present reality. And with his “urgent, piercing, and altogether brilliant” (Johnathan M. Metzl, author of What We’ve Become) insight, he illustrates that hearts and minds are won in our schools and universities—places that democratic societies across the world are now ill-prepared to defend against the fascist assault currently underway. Political Science Politics & Government Racism & Discrimination Social Sciences Ideologies & Doctrines 21st Century Social justice Fascism Thought-Provoking Modern Social movement Capitalism Socialism

Critic reviews

"Dion Graham thoughtfully performs this companion to HOW FASCISM WORKS, unpacking how authoritarians erase history by omission, frame it in terms that suit them, and effectively divide citizens into “us and them.” His warm baritone sets the listener at ease so they can process the many ways our society is being programmed to accept autocracy through such actions as instituting book bans, eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and cutting funding for education. He passionately delivers a history of colonialism, nationalism, exceptionalism, supremacism, and fascism with examples that parallel what’s going on today and then shares how anti-education, classical education, and revising history dehumanize others. Graham channels hope and encouragement as he expresses the importance of reclaiming history with compassion and closes with a call to action to fight fascism."
Historical Insights • Educational Value • Calming Voice • Relevant Content • Well-cited Information • Clear Explanations

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This book was published one month before the 2024 us elections occurred. bud, the research and analysis allow it to feel like it was written in March of 2025. The issues that it discusses and brings up and the route that the current administration has taken mirror exactly what this book's predictions have been. The book also gives deep insights into the bigger picture of what is happening right now.

Accurate

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Given it's recent release, this book is still very relevant...maybe too relevant given current events.

Well written, informative and terrifying.

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Engaging read, learned a lot from all of the examples described regarding fascist movements and tactics in other countries as well as some from our own.

Very Informative

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Excellent, informative book! Painfully relevant as I listened in June 2025. Wonderful reading that strikes a balancing between gravitas and consolation. I recommend this book!

Timely!

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A serious subject. Erasing history to make you proud of your own country is to deny abuse within your family so you can avoid taking action to correct the impact or having an honest discussion of what led to that abuse.
We learn from our history. To avoid it or erase it is to embrace ignorance and cowardice.

Reality, not fiction

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