HOW DEMOCRACIES DIE

Democracies are surprisingly fragile, and their success is not guaranteed. They can be undone deliberately through a coup d'état or seemingly legally through small steps. This is the message of this audiobook. The moral is to be vigilant and to resist changes in democratic norms. Fred Sanders offers an evenhanded narration, resisting the temptation to deliver it in a basso profundo voice of doom or to add false drama. He varies his tone and pacing to suit the material. The authors are academics, but the text is clear and straightforward, and they keep their examples relatively short. All of this lends itself well to audio. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2018]