Heather Cox Richardson’s Democracy Awakens is not a conventional academic history, nor does it neatly fall within what we normally think of as popular history.  Richardson builds upon “Letters from an American,” her popular Substack newsletter, in which she offers a combination of news and historical context.  She has stated the inspiration for the book is her newsletter audience, who most days receive a combination of news summary, analysis, and historical comparisons. Richardson is a Harvard educated professor of history at Boston College and the author of several academic books, although she is better known for “Letters from an American.” Read more