New Releases by Sinclair Lewis

Babbitt is a scathing critique of early 20th-century American society, written by Sinclair Lewis. The novel portrays the life of George F. Babbitt, a middle-class real estate agent in the fictional city of Zenith. Through this character, Lewis delivers a satire on conformity, materialism, and the moral emptiness of American culture during that era. Babbitt is a man trapped in a predictable and superficial routine, forced to confront his own dissatisfaction and the social pressures that surround him. The work exposes the hypocrisy of the American Dream, showing how social expectations crush individuality and promote a life focused on material success, leaving no room for authenticity or personal growth. Since its publication, Babbitt has been praised for its sharp social observation and its critiques of consumerism and cultural uniformity. The novel not only reflects the issues of its time but also remains relevant in today''s discussions on identity, conformity, and the struggles of individuals against societal norms.

In this sardonic portrait of the up-and-coming middle class during the prosperous 1920s, Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) perfectly captures the sound, the feel, and the attitudes of the generation that created the cult of consumerism. With a sharp eye for detail and keen powers of observation, Lewis tracks successful realtor George Babbitt''s daily struggles to rise to the top of his profession while maintaining his reputation as an upstanding family man.On the surface, Babbitt appears to be the quintessential middle-class embodiment of conservative values and enthusiasm for the well-to-do lifestyle of the small entrepreneur. But beneath the complacent facade, he also experiences a rising, nameless discontent. These feelings eventually lead Babbitt into risky escapades that threaten his family and his standing in the community.

Babbitt, first published in 1922, is a novel by Sinclair Lewis. Largely a satire of American culture, society, and behavior, it critiques the vacuity of middle-class American life and its pressure toward conformity. An immediate and controversial bestseller, Babbitt was influential in the decision to award Lewis the Nobel Prize in literature in 1930. The word \"Babbitt\" entered the English language as a \"person and especially a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards.\"

“The novel that foreshadowed Donald Trump’s authoritarian appeal.”—Salon It Can’t Happen Here is the only one of Sinclair Lewis’s later novels to match the power of Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith. A cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, it is an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. Written during the Great Depression, when the country was largely oblivious to Hitler’s aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a president who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press. Called “a message to thinking Americans” by the Springfield Republican when it was published in 1935, It Can’t Happen Here is a shockingly prescient novel that remains as fresh and contemporary as today’s news. Includes an Introduction by Michael Meyer and an Afterword by Gary Scharnhorst

A neglected tour de force by the first American to win the Nobel Prize in literature, Kingsblood Royal is a stirring and wickedly funny portrait of a man who resigns from the white race. When Neil Kingsblood a typical middle-American banker with a comfortable life makes the shocking discovery that he has African-American blood, the odyssey that ensues creates an unforgettable portrayal of two Americas, one black, one white. As timely as when it was first published in 1947, one need only open today''s newspaper to see the same issues passionately being discussed between blacks and whites that we find in Kingsblood Royal, says Charles Johnson. Perhaps only now can we fully appreciate Sinclair Lewis''s astonishing achievement.

An anthology of stories on the corporate world, written earlier this century by Sinclair Lewis. Set in New York, the subjects range from back-stabbing to office romance.

The lonely predicament of Carol Kennicott, caught be- tween her desires for social reform and individual hap- piness reflects the position in which America''s turn of the century, \"emancipated woman\"found herself.