The American Nightmare - Fascism Made in the USA

  • On political degeneration and the erosion of democracy
  • Great expertise and personal insights: Klaus Brinkbäumer was a long-time USA correspondent and still travels extensively through the country
  • Interviews with various groups, including MAGA supporters, journalists, and scientists

A ruthless analysis of the political situation in the USA

The American dream has turned into a nightmare: democratic rules and norms are being suspended or abolished. The government is run by fascists who spread victim myths and fantasies of superiority, attacking universities and the media. They have abandoned the idea that power changes are part of democracy, declaring their opponents to be enemies and themselves to be superior.

Long-time US correspondent Klaus Brinkbäumer has traveled across the country, spoken with MAGA supporters, journalists, and academics, and has come to the conclusion that the outlook has never been bleaker.

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  • Publisher: S. FISCHER
  • Release: 11.03.2026
  • ISBN: 978-3-10-397733-2
  • 352 Pages
  • Author: Klaus Brinkbäumer
Buchcover von The American Nightmare - Fascism Made in the USA: Faschismus made in USA
Klaus Brinkbäumer The American Nightmare - Fascism Made in the USA
Portrait von Klaus Brinkbäumer
© Kirsten Nijhof
Klaus Brinkbäumer

Klaus Brinkbäumer, born in 1967, is a journalist, TV presenter, and author. He studied at the University of California Santa Barbara and started his journalistic career at Munich’s Abendzeitung. For 25 years, he worked for Der Spiegel as a reporter, author of numerous cover stories, and its America correspondent (2007-2011). During this period, he was regularly interviewed in the US media. He became the magazine’s deputy editor-in-chief in 2011 and editor-in-chief in 2015. Brinkbäumer has been awarded numerous journalistic prizes, including the Egon Erwin Kirsch Prize, the Nannen Prize and the German Reporter Prize, and was named editor-in-chief of the year in 2016. Since April 2019, he has been writing for the weekly newspaper Die Zeit and working on documentary films.