Texans are often accused of an over-inflated sense of self, and they rarely make nuanced political gestures. The standoff over voting rights in Texas may end up offering proof the state can influence policies beyond its own borders. The latest tactic by Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives to protect the voting rights of their constituents by leaving the state to stop restrictive legislation will either be a catalyst for an historic national law or set up a devastating defeat for supporters of expanded voting right.

As historian Timothy Snyder, philosopher Jason Stanley and former Republican insider Mike Lofgren have also warned, the U.S. is teetering at the edge of fascism. With "It Can Happen Here," Hinton brings his knowledge and experience to bear on a dynamic history of the Trump administration — taking his readers inside his classroom, to white power rallies and to his own testimony at the Chea trial. One of the book's strengths is its accessibility. Written with literary style rather than in dry academic prose, it makes for fascinating, albeit deeply disturbing, reading