Rage and the Republic

The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution

By: Jonathan Turley

Narrated by: Jonathan Turley

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, law professor, legal analyst, and bestselling author of The Indispensable Right Jonathan Turley explores how the unique origins of American democracy set it apart from other revolutions, whether it can survive and thrive in the 21st century, and how the unfinished story of the revolution will play out in a rapidly changing world.

This is a book about revolutions. Most countries are the progeny of revolution. At the birth of this nation, the Founding Fathers faced the quintessential question of self-governance: how do you keep democracy from devolving into violent anarchy or brutal despotism? Drawing on little-known facts from the founding, Jonathan Turley reveals how the United States escaped the cycles of violence and instability that plagued other democratic movements, from ancient Athens to 19th-century France.

As the nation approaches a new era marked by artificial intelligence, robotics, and profound economic shifts, America must again withstand the pressure of radical forces that seek to curtail our natural liberties under the guise of popular reform. In this crisis of faith, many politicians and pundits are questioning the very principles of American democracy, and some law professors are even calling for scrapping the Constitution.

Synthesizing sources from history to philosophy to the arts, Turley offers a hopeful account of how the lessons of the past can guide us through today’s “crisis of faith” in democracy and see us into the future. He notes: “From redcoats to robots, our challenges have changed. Yet, we have remained. Our greatest danger is not forgetting the history detailed in this book, but forgetting who we were in that history.”

An important and timely read!

Lots of important, timely insights into both history and current events !! Clear and concise writing, excellent narration, an outstanding book essential for deeply understanding what is happening now and what will soon be happening in America!

Required reading or listening

Excellent professional, academic presentation. I learned more about Thomas Paine in one book than 20 others. I’ll have to listen at least 2 more times to absorb more.
I was shocked to learn that Johnathan is a liberal from Chicago. I would have guessed him to be a Constitutional conservative and possibly Republican.
He is a great defender of OUR ONLY Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Thank you Johnathan for giving a shit about America and producing such a dense, rich History for Americans to enjoy.
We the People owe you

Great history lesson for today’s challenges.

I usually rate books but don’t rate the time to write a review. This book was different. With all the turmoil and political fighting we’ve seen over the last 10+ years, this book puts things in perspective.

But, even more importantly, the lessons we can learn fun history holds tremendous value for decisions made today.

Two of the key topics Turley covers are democracy and socialism which have become popular with today’s youth and Progressives. I will not summarize here but, suffice to say, if people knew the history of these political ideologies, there is no way good people would continue to support them.

With all that, Jonathan Turley’s well researched book can easily be checked to verify the truth.

A Powerful Look at How Rage Fuels Extremism

Anyone who pays even the slightest attention to politics these days will note that each side of the aisle appears to be growing more extreme and that the growing anger of left and right increasingly results in rhetoric and action that would have been completely unacceptable twenty years ago. Now, unfortunately, people shrug because that's just the way things are. And with the growing extremism is a coinciding desire to stop the other side from even making its arguments. It's dangerous for the future of our republic and now Jonathan Turley has brilliantly documented that this explosion of rage is not new, and he promises that there is still hope.

Turley begins with a look at the American and French Revolutions and effectively makes the case that there were tensions and interests pushing both revolutions toward extremism and violence. But the American Revolution avoided its own Reign of Terror and devolution into Democratic Despotism precisely because the founders strove to create a system of government that countered the impulse toward a tyranny of the majority. These checks and balances serve to protect the rights of minority political factions. These rights are not protected in unicameral systems so, ironically, those systems whose proponents argue are most democratic and sensitive to the will of the people historically became the most authoritarian and violent.

The last half of the book explores the current state of affairs in the United States and the challenges of the next few decades. The nation is facing very hard times and the confidence in critical institutions such as the branches of our government, our political parties, and our press are all at all-time lows. The willingness to talk about today's problems with people who do not agree with us is diminishing. While the number of people who believe that politically-motivated violence is justified continues to grow. And all the while, political leaders across the aisle stoke the fires of their constituents' rage for short term gain. Yet Turley has not given up hope and neither should we.

Choose the Print Version

Lots of good history and ideas here, but, as with his previous audio book, Turley reads it awkwardly, as if seeing his own prose for the first time. It is at times as if it were being read by a dyslexic who cannot grasp the flow of the words. His cadence, pauses, and inflections undermine the power of his words. He would do well to hire a professional reader next time. Buy the print book.