Per my review at http://baltimorereads.wordpress.com/2... 
 The Plot Against America by Philip Roth has been on my "to-read" list for a couple years now. The idea of Roth's novel fascinated me. He imagines a world in which the U.S. elects a pro-Hitler president during the devastating and terrifying years of the Nazi rule in Europe. As someone who will pick up almost any book centered around the World War II era, I have read plenty of novels and memoirs recounting how Hitler's reign and the war affected so many people. Americans felt the punch through the countless casualties in battle on foreign soil and the crippling effect the war created on the home front, and yet the dark shadow that had enveloped Germany and the surrounding countries - the Nazi soldiers marching down streets, the concentration camps, the bombings, the blood spilled - never reached American soil. The Plot Against America considers what life could have been like had that shadow truly threatened to engulf the U.S. 
 The best word to describe The Plot Against America would be simply creepy. Roth's imaginary universe in which Charles Lindbergh, the famous aviator who was a known Hitler supporter, has been elected to the White House is so well thought out and believable, especially since Roth himself is the main character. Young Philip guides readers through the scary transformation of America from the safe, democratic country under FDR to the dangerous and paranoia-filled nation guided by the suspicious tactics of Lindbergh and his supporters. He sees his mother in a constant state of worry, his father and brother fighting over the legitimacy of this new government, and his foolhardy cousin suffering from a debilitating war injury. He sees his aunt openly support the Lindbergh administration despite her strong Jewish roots. He sees fellow Jewish families convening in the streets, gossiping about what is to come next for their people. For a boy whose biggest concern before Lindbergh's election was how he could afford the next stamp for his stamp collection, this new life is one of pure fear and confusion. 
 The Plot Against America is both fact and fiction. It mentions plenty of true historical figures and gives them a fictionalized path, such as Henry Ford (Lindbergh's Secretary of the Interior), Walter Winchell (anti-Lindbergh radio broadcaster turned presidential nominee), and Anne Morrow Lindbergh (First Lady who really comes into her own toward the end of the book). Roth feeds off his own experiences of growing up as a Jew in the trying times of World War II, which makes the emotion that fills the book seem genuine and believable. The book seems to wrap up pretty quickly - Roth never gives readers an idea of how life for the fictional Roths turns out after the events toward the end of the story - which was disappointing but made sense. Where The Plot Against America ends, the natural course of history picks up. Roth's imaginary world under Lindbergh veers back into the real history in which FDR served his third term as president. 
 Anyone who is interested in World War II literature and politics should pick up this book. It is well researched, extremely well thought out, and brings up many questions about how history could have been. As Americans, we were and are fortunate to live in a democratic country with freedoms and liberties for everyone - but how quickly can that change? Can the words and influence of one person transform the very nation in which we live?