Cry Havoc, Michael Signer
Cry Havoc, Michael Signer
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Cry Havoc
Charlottesville and American Democracy Under Siege

Author: Michael Signer

Narrator: Michael Signer, Corey Carthew

Unabridged: 12 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 03/10/2020

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

The former mayor of Charlottesville delivers a vivid, first-person chronicle of the terror and mayhem of the August 2017 "Unite the Right" event, and shows how issues of extremism are affecting not just one city but the nation itself.
The deadly invasion of Charlottesville, Virginia, by white nationalist militias in August 2017 is a microcosm of the challenges facing American democracy today. In his first-person account of one of recent American history's most polarizing events, Michael Signer, then Charlottesville's mayor, both tells the story of what really happened and draws out its larger significance.
Signer's gripping, strikingly candid "you are there" narrative sets the events on the ground-the lead-up to August's "Unite the Right" rally, the days of the weekend itself, the aftermath-in the larger context of a country struggling to find its way in a disruptive new era. He confronts some of the most challenging questions of our moment, namely how can we:Reconcile free speech with the need for public order? Maintain the values of pragmatism, compromise, even simple civility, in a time of intensification of extremes on the right and the left?Address systemic racism through our public spaces and memorials?Provide accountability after a crisis?
While Signer shows how easily our communities can be taken hostage by forces intent on destroying democratic norms and institutions, he concludes with a stirring call for optimism, revealing how the tragic events of Charlottesville are also bolstering American democracy from within.

About Michael Signer

Michael Signer is an author, advocate, political theorist, and attorney. He has taught political theory, leadership, and governance at the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and the University of California. Signer is the author of Demagogue: The Fight to Save Democracy from Its Worst Enemies. His writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the New Republic, and USA Today. He lives with his wife and twin boys in Virginia.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Meg on June 28, 2020

Extremely complicated feelings about this book. On the one hand, I am sympathetic to Signer for the fact that he seems to have made persistent good faith efforts to make progress in our city and prevent the disaster that was August 12th, despite abhorrent amounts of bureaucratic red tape, police ine......more

Goodreads review by Phillip on February 16, 2024

Michael Signer had to deal with extremists on both sides of the Confederate monument debate while trying to observe the law. The council meetings had both sides becoming disruptive and calling the rules of order fascist. What you get is a story of our times when you can't debate anyone without demon......more

Goodreads review by Walter Mack on May 30, 2020

What It Takes Understand what strength and fortitude one needs to confront tribalism in America today. For those who are unafraid of constructive righteous civil action, this is what it takes. Get prepared, this book will help you get where you need to be.......more

Goodreads review by amanda on October 08, 2020

While the book was detailed and captivating, it read like “A White Man’s Tears: Entitlement to Empathy”. Don’t recommend taking this account of events as the only reality. For myself, I’d rather empathize with the oppressed than those upholding the system of oppression.......more

Goodreads review by Jose on December 25, 2022

An intimate account from the Mayor of Charlottesville.......more


Quotes

"[D]eeply introspective... [Signer] offers a thorough analysis of the 'shortcomings' of First Amendment law and the failures of policing. He emerges as a well-intentioned, proactive figurehead... A complex, disturbing, valuable tale of racial disharmony, government failure, and one man's frantic attempts to save the day."—Kirkus Reviews

"[O]ffers a first-person chronicle of events that dramatically pits the First Amendment (free speech) against public order. How are they reconciled? That to a great extent is Signer's story. His narrative adds a much needed depth and perception... stress[ing] where American democracy stands in light of Charlottesville and continuing racial events of today."—The Daily Press

"A valuable case study for civic government and ethics collections."—Library Journal

"Highly Recommended."—Buzzfeed News

"A reflective insider account ... Michael Signer, then mayor of Charlottesville, worked mightily, as his book Cry Havoc makes clear, to try to avert the white supremacist standoff that took the life of Heather Heyer and tarnished the name of his town. ... Signer grapples with the limits of the First Amendment and ... raises thoughtful questions with no easy answers. Should provocateurs be given demonstration permits when their objective is to provoke? Signer offers a long rumination on his efforts to stay true to a freedom he holds dear while not giving energy to people who repulse him. ...The mayhem on the streets of Charlottesville bruised the idealism of Signer, who had grand ambitions of remaking the normally tranquil college town into a capital of the resistance against the politics of President Trump."—New York Times

"Mike Signer had a unique vantage point on one of the inflection points of our time: the white-supremacist rallies and violence in Charlottesville in 2017. In this important new book, he explores where we've been, where we are, and--most important--where we should be headed if we can summon our better angels."— Jon Meacham, author of The Soul of America

"Fascinating."— Michel Martin, NPR's "All Things Considered"

"Michael Signer's Cry Havoc goes behind the scenes as neo-Nazis descended on Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017, transforming a small college town into an international flashpoint of extremist hatred and racial confrontation. The former mayor recounts, from his firsthand vantage point, the events of that tragic and dramatic weekend. This well-written, disturbing volume serves as a warning about what may be coming in America's increasingly divided society. We would be wise to heed the lessons of Charlottesville before one small city's dreadful conflict becomes the blueprint for violence from coast to coast."—Larry Sabato, director, UVA Center for Politics

"A report from the frontlines of Trump's America. Polarization, race, politicized memory, violence, and good-willed efforts of citizens and politicians to navigate it all. Mike Signer gives us his on-the-ground view of 'Charlottesville under siege' revealing the deep vulnerabilities and promise of American democracy."
Daniel Ziblatt, Harvard University, coauthor of How Democracies Die

"Cry Havoc vividly recounts the disturbing events in Charlottesville and reminds us that the battle to preserve our democratic institutions is an enduring part of our national experience. Essential reading in a time of national peril."—Robert Dallek, author, of An Unfinished Life: JFK, 1917-1963