Saving Democracy: A User's Manual for Every American

Saving Democracy is that rare book that doesn’t simply diagnose the crisis our democracy faces, and the broader strategies that we must take to fight back…but it breaks it all down so that every reader understands the role she or he can play in their own lives. 
 
—It details the broader forces and strategic mistakes that have led to where America finds itself today—and the imperative of fighting back immediately to minimize the long-term damage done by Trump and his allies
—It explains how all levels of the pro-democracy side, from national political leaders to grassroots activists to everyday Americans, must switch to offense.
—It explains how to stay on offense and win on offense. Immediately, and everywhere.
—It explains the roles everyday Americans can and must play a role in saving democracy at this fraught time.

It’s a user’s manual, intended to spur action. Your action. After a review of the true battle for democracy we are engaged in, each chapter explains how YOU, the reader, can and must play the leading role in lifting democracy. It details the concrete steps individuals and groups can take where you live, lists resources that can help along the way, and offers case studies and best practices that have worked elsewhere.

Saving Democracy is structured to challenge and guide each reader—no matter your role in your community or politics or where you work—on how you each can play a more active and effective role in lifting democracy than you might have imagined. Over the course of the book, you will construct your own personal plan to fight for democracy. And when you’re finished, you’ll be ready to get to work.
 
The second edition of Saving Democracy, published in June 2025, updates and applies these lessons to the even greater crisis of the Trump second term--where they are more relevant and needed than ever.
 

About the Author
David Pepper is a lawyer, writer, political activist, former elected official, adjunct professor, and served as the Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party between 2015 and 2021. He is a fellow at the Kettering Foundation. 

Pepper is the author of Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wakeup Call from Behind the Lines (2021) and its companion book, Saving Democracy. These works have received nationwide attention and praise for their dire warnings about the attack on democracy happening across the country, and guidance on what everyday citizens can do to battle back. A review in Salon called Laboratories "arguably the most important" work on democracy in the nation. Pepper’s work has been featured on: CNN, MSNBC, and CSPAN; highlighted in the Washington Post, Time, The New York Times, Salon, The New Republic and The New Yorker; and has earned praise from a wide range of political leaders across party lines.

Pepper also authored five novels that bridge real-world politics and fiction. His first novel, The People’s House, earned praise for having “predicted the Russia scandal.” The Wall Street Journal named Pepper "one of the best political-thriller writers on the scene.”

Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, David is a fifth-generation Cincinnatian. He earned his BA magna cum laude from Yale University where he was Phi Beta Kappa, and later earned his JD from Yale Law School. He was elected to serve as a member of the Cincinnati City Council and the Hamilton County Commission. The Ohio Democratic Party elect