The Storm Is Here

An American Crucible

By: Luke Mogelson

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

The New Yorker's award-winning war correspondent returns to his own country to chronicle its accelerating civic breakdown, in an indelible eyewitness narrative of startling explanatory power

After years of living abroad and covering the Global War on Terrorism, Luke Mogelson went home in early 2020 to report on the social discord that the pandemic was bringing to the fore across the US. An assignment that began with right-wing militias in Michigan soon took him to an uprising for racial justice in Minneapolis, then to antifascist clashes in the streets of Portland, and ultimately to an attempted insurrection in Washington, D.C. Those dispatches were only the beginning.

This is the definitive eyewitness account of how—during a season of sick­ness, economic uncertainty, and violence—a large segment of Americans became convinced of the need to battle against dark forces plotting to take their country away from them. It builds month by month, through vivid depictions of events on the ground, from the onset of covid-19 to the attack on the US Capitol— during which Mogelson followed the mob into the Senate chamber—and its echoes in Donald Trump’s return to power five years later. Bravely reported and beautifully written, The Storm Is Here is a unique record of the moment at which American democracy began to crumble.

Frightening, important, well told

Everyone talks about how divided, polarized, and hyper-partisan our country is, but even if you watch and read the news I doubt most people know the full extent of the violent, authoritarian movements that threaten our world. Mogelson does a spectacular job of relating the whole picture, the competing pressures, the global pandemic, the historical context, the names of the players, the money that’s being made. I cannot do this book justice. It isn’t always a pleasant story to listen to, but it’s incredibly eye-opening. It’s important to understand what happened on January 6th and the groups that still plan to “save” America through violence and intimidation.

Scary and anger inducing

This book brought me back to January 6th where, while working a few miles away from the Capitol a group of delusional fascists tried to destroy our democracy. What has angered me all the more since is the feeling that it was just a dress rehearsal. Reading about the characters involved, I still cannot fathom how we let them get this far

Behind The Scenes With America’s Collective Psychosis

This is the best, most depressing, most horrific and bravest account yet of 2020 and the Jan. 6 riots. As Mr. Fogelman says, if there is another American civil war, it will be waged by people who are laboring under delusions. Required reading.

A most essential read

I don’t think I’ve ever been this afraid after reading a book since reading “The Alienist” and that was a historical novel; this is happening now! The politics, the reactionaries, the violence in thought word & deed and the deep felt foolery that has been perpetuating for too many years is fomenting a new war for the control of our democracy and our freedoms which we have taken for granted since WWII. I recommend this book to anyone who doubts that herd mentality isn’t a danger to every citizen both present and future.

Engrossing

I thought I understood what led up to January 6, 2021. But this book showed me a greater depth and history and perspective that I didn’t have before. The chapter where the author is at the Capitol on January 6 was harrowing all over again. It was a hard book in some ways, but I’m so glad that I have listened to it. I have a deeper understanding now of the forces at play in American political life.