Shadows of Tyranny: Defending Democracy in an Age of Dictatorship

Bestselling historian and author Ken McGoogan delves into dictatorships of the twentieth century to sound this crucial alarm about the possibility of democratic collapse in the US and its implications for Canada.

Twentieth-century novels such as George Orwell’s 1984 and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale produced visions of future dystopia that rang with echoes of past tyrannies. Always implied was a warning that history’s worst chapters are never truly closed, and that we must not fail—as many of our forebears did—to recognize that the threat of totalitarianism cannot simply be wished away.

Shadows of Tyranny, an alarming and engrossing work of non-fiction from acclaimed Canadian author Ken McGoogan, draws on this sense of looping history to show how figures like Donald Trump replay many aspects of the authoritarianism that spread in the middle of the last century. Calling not only on Orwell and Atwood, but also on H.G. Wells, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Jack London and Hannah Arendt, McGoogan traces the ways democracy succumbed to paranoia, polarization, scapegoating and demagoguery less than a hundred years ago. These same forces, he argues, are now driving a far-right movement in the United States that seems devoted to using Trump’s warped charisma as a “wrecking ball” to clear the way for autocracy closely resembling the dictatorships that stoked the Second World War.

With this prospect, McGoogan’s central questions become all the more pressing: How should Canadians respond, officially and individually, to the possibility of democratic collapse in our powerful neighbour to the south? Is talk of manifest destiny from right-wing American firebrands like Tucker Carlson just chatter for the sake of notoriety? Or is it a hint of the expansionist urges that always lie at the heart of authoritarianism, and that may one day point the American military machine in our direction on the pretext of “liberating” us?

In the cautionary spirit of earlier visionary works, Shadows of Tyranny offers a galvanizing image of a dark possible future, as well as an urgent call to act in the belief that we still have the time and ability to ward it off.

“The veneer of civilization is thin. We have all seen how easily extremism, intolerance and tyranny can come to the fore. In this important and vital book, Ken McGoogan reminds us of our collective obligation to preserve democracy and civil society. We ignore his warning at our peril.”

“Shadows of Tyranny is, in part, a celebration of those brave souls in the twentieth century who resisted autocrats and plutocrats, dictators and ‘devil kings’ in order to save us from unimaginable calamity. But it is also an urgent clarion call for the rest of us in the here and now. We need to stand together again to defend democracy in the face of an expanding and malignant Age of Dictatorship. In his always engaging, inimitable style, Ken McGoogan has created a ‘pointillist’ historical narrative that paints a larger picture we all not only need to see clearly but also act upon—like those earlier resisters. It’s a must-read.”

“When fascism was cooked up in the embers of the First World War, brilliant celebrity writers and activists saw the danger and took awful personal risks to tell their stories. McGoogan’s book introduces readers to these courageous, talented people and raises the question: ‘Where are they now?’ As a new fascism emerges in the West, will intellectuals have the skill and the platforms to push back against authoritarians the way Matthew Halton, George Orwell, Hannah Arendt, Ernest Hemingway and Norman Bethune did in the interwar years? And, if the new fascism succeeds in undermining democracy and the rule of law, will individuals have the courage to resist, following the example of the women and men who fought back in occupied Europe?”

“We all need to read Ken McGoogan’s book. It is prescient, terrifying, sober—a clarion call for us to wake up and see the totalitarian monster clanking toward us.”

“McGoogan is a master history teller, and as much as his past Arctic fact-based tales spellbind me, this may be his most important work. Learn from history goes the saying, and Shadows of Tyranny is a detailed warning we should not and must not ignore.”

“Ken McGoogan’s book is a truly brilliant account of what happens when we let our guard down—when we ignore the signs of deep authoritarianism all around us. An unforgettable trip through our past, present, and potential future.”

“Raise the red flags! Ken McGoogan’s Shadows of Tyranny is a brilliant examination of what could be—but should never be again: the rise of fascism, the threat of war. His highly literate and clear-eyed look at the parallels between Europe in the 1930s and North America today should be must-reading for every Canadian. Sound the alarms!”