I've run into David Frum, the author of TRUMPOCRACY, a few times during my years in Washington, DC. This isn't unusual; one often runs into politicians, politicos, journalists, and other capital city "celebrities." My first encounter with Frum was the most memorable. I was walking my black lab, Dash, in Battery Kemble Park when all of a sudden David's two large yellow labs appeared out of the woods and bum rushed us. There was lots of growling and snarling and teeth baring, but luckily, I was able to keep Dash moving along the path and extricate us from a bad situation.

Like his dogs, Frum doesn't smile much, does a fair amount of growling, and doesn't back away from a fight. After reading his work in the Atlantic Monthly and listening to his interviews, I've grown to admire these qualities, especially his intellect, directness, and fearlessness. He's an example of a Republican (at least, I assume that he's a Republican, having served as a speechwriter for George W. Bush) who puts country above party. Perhaps this is one reason why he wrote this book, a stark warning about the dangers Donald Trump and his administration pose to American democracy, a danger that he says "dies by degrees."

This book is a compilation of essays from Frum's work in the Atlantic and explores the major themes of the Trumpocracy, with chapters dedicated to "Enablers," "Appeasers," "Enemies of the People," and the "Rigged System," to name a few. The book doesn't uncover new information, but it does a nice job of explaining the many ways Trumpism poses a threat to democracy. I especially appreciated the warning Frum has for the Republican Party: "Maybe you do not much care about the future of the Republican Party. You should," he warns. "Conservatives will always be with us. If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy."

Most of all, I take to heart Frum's parting words: "Those citizens who fantasize about defying tyranny from within fortified compounds have never understood how liberty is actually threatened in a modern bureacratuc state: not by diktat and violence, but by the slow, demoralizing process of corruption and deceit. And the way that liberty must be defended is not with amateur firearms, but with an unwearying insistence on the honesty, integrity, and professionalism of American institutions and those who lead them. We are living through the most dangerous challenge to the free government of the United States that anyone alive has encountered. What happens next is up to you. Don't be afraid. This moment of danger can also be your finest hour as a citizen and an American."

While I don't look forward to seeing David's dogs again, I do look forward to running into David, himself. I'll be sure to let him know how much I appreciated and enjoyed this book.