The nation was on the brink. Courts threw thousands of people into prison for opinions they voiced. Self-appointed vigilantes executed tens of thousands of citizens’ arrests. Some 75 newspapers and magazines were banned from the mail and forced to close. When the government stepped in, it was often to fan the flames. This was America during and after the Great War: a brief but appalling era blighted by lynchings, censorship, and the sadistic, sometimes fatal abuse of conscientious objectors in military prisons. It is a time that we have mostly forgotten about, until now.  Award-winning historian Adam Hochschild brings alive the horrifying yet inspiring 4 years following the U.S. entry into WWI, spotlighting forgotten repression while celebrating an unforgettable set of Americans who strove to fix their fractured country—and showing how their struggles still guide us today.