Twilight of Democracy: World's Descent into Darkness: A review

What do you think a world that didn’t experience World War II would be like? Peaceful? More ready to accept what is going on around them? That is exactly the questions that Herman Forwood wants you to think when you open his 2025 novel, Twilight of Democracy: World’s Descent into Darkness.

Set in a world that did not experience the full trauma and atrocities of a world that Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich caused by the Second World War, you a thrust straightway into a world that still has problems. You enter the story told through the eyes of Tony Massina, a first-generation Italian-American who was born and raised in Detroit, until he marries his childhood sweetheart Sheryl and moves to Chicago after he lands a job in the German Consulate.

There was a Second World War, but it was short-lived as Hitler was assassinated in Warsaw and Germany quickly ended the war. FDR was president during this time, but an up-and-coming hero named Charles Lindbergh (yes, that Lindbergh) stepped into the political scene and defeated FDR in his attempt to win the 1940 presidential election. Running on a platform of America First, trying to keep America isolated and not involved in the world’s politics.

After giving the backstory that sets us in 1950 (which covers the first couple of chapters), we are currently in Lindbergh’s third term as president, and he has begun cracking down on immigration, limiting the number of people that can come in the United States. Tony is tasked with the job of helping people get out of the United States, with a majority of them going to Germany. It is during his work at the consulate that we are introduced to Anne Frank, who wants to get scientist Edward Teller out of the United States. Teller was working in Los Alamos. New Mexico on a top-secret project.

That part of the story is forgotten for a while, as Tony and his co-worker, Greta, work through the almost never ending pile of applications, and we get some background on why Greta is living in the United States (I was not seeing this twist coming, but once it was revealed, it made sense with the way that Germany was during the Second World War with minorities). The minorities in this book are trying to get out of the United States, especially Jews and Mexicans, as the administration starts to crack down on these minorities.

The book kicks into high gear with about a hundred pages to go, when the subplot to get Teller out of the country comes back into the picture. Tony meets with Anne again and the plan is hatched to get Teller out. After the plan is successful, we spend the last sixty pages with Tony as he faces the FBI, capture, escape and a rather pleasant conclusion to the story.

I have always been a sucker for alternate-timeline stories and what if conspiracies, and this book provides it in great detail. Forwood’s use of details and mixing the background into the main story keeps it moving towards a conclusion that you didn’t see coming. I read this book in four days, never wanting to put it down, and then looking for any excuse to pick it back up.

I would definitely recommend this book for history buffs, alternative-timeline fans, and anyone that wants to think about what this country could be like if a couple simple changes are made.

As a teacher, it is my job to give my students homework, and I extend that to you, dear reader. I read a lot of history books (you will learn that about me as you read my reviews), so the next book that I will be reading and reviewing is History of Montana: A Captivating Guide to Historical Events and Facts You Should Know About the Treasure State (U.S. States). It is available on Kindle Unlimited, like Twilight of Democracy, and I will put both links below for you to get your copy and tell me what you think about them.

Until the next time we talk (well, you read what I have to write), I will leave you with a thought: What would it take to change our country for the worse? What would you do to change it to make sure it doesn’t happen?

Amazon.com: History of Montana: A Captivating Guide to Historical Events and Facts You Should Know About the Treasure State (U.S. States) eBook : History, Captivating: Kindle Store

Amazon.com: Twilight of Democracy: World's Descent into Darkness eBook : Forwood, Herman: Kindle Store

P.S. I also have a podcast, where my friends and I talk about Disney movies. Here is the link to the podcast: Apple Podcasts