RESISTING THE RIGHT | A Busboys and Poets Books Presentation

RESISTING THE RIGHT is a handbook for how to survive a right-wing autocracy in the United States. The victory of a Republican, either Trump in November 2024, or another right wing figure in the future, could be a prelude to the destruction of America’s democratic system, making a subsequent change of power almost impossible. That, Robert Edwards argues in this powerful and necessary intervention, is an eventuality for which we must prepare now. 

The book fast forwards past the ebb and flow of daily politics to a long-range preview of life under such an autocracy. It is structured as a practical guide, setting out how such a regime can be combated using political action, civil disobedience, economics, cyberspace, traditional media, social media, the arts, and even our personal relationships.

Edwards, a former US Army intelligence officer who now works as a successful screenwriter, draws on his military training to assess “the threat,” combining it with a storyteller’s imagination to play out possible scenarios to their logical conclusion. In a year when the future of American democracy teeters on a knife edge, the urgency of RESISTING THE RIGHT could not be more acute.

Robert Edwards is joining us on the Busboys stage alongside Timothy Heaphy to give us a better understanding of what is happening in our country, and how we can maintain hope for the future of our country. Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Edwards will be signing following the program.

This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of RESISTING THE RIGHT will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed. 

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Robert Edwards is a writer and filmmaker based in New York City. From 1985 to 1991 he was an infantry and intelligence officer in the US Army, serving in Germany during the Cold War and as a captain in a parachute infantry regiment in Iraq in the Persian Gulf war. A winner of the Nicholl Fellowship from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he has written numerous screenplays for all the major studios, directed the feature films Land of the Blind starring Ralph Fiennes and Donald Sutherland, and When I Live My Life Over Again, starring Christopher Walken and Amber Heard, and produced the documentaries Sumo East and West and The Last Laugh with his wife Ferne Pearlstein. He has also been a private eye, a telemarketer, and a subpar guitar player in a rock band. He has a BA in history from Lafayette College and an MA in communication from Stanford, and writes The King’s Necktie, a blog about politics and culture.

Timothy Heaphy is a partner in the litigation department of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and co-chair of its compliance, investigations and enforcement practice. 

Heaphy recently led the House investigation into the Jan. 6 attacks on Capitol Hill. Prior to that role, he served as the University counsel for the University of Virginia, where he is now a lecturer in its law school. He has also served as a partner with Hunton Andrews Kurth. In 2017, he authored the official report commissioned by the city of Charlottesville on the city's handling of the events surrounding the Unite the Right rally of August of that year.

Heaphy served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia from 2009-14. His previous experience included clerking for Judge John A. Terry of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and working for the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. He was named to the National Law Journal's 40 important lawyers under 40 list in 2003. In 2016, Heaphy founded a nonprofit organization, the Fountain Fund, which provides low-interest loans to formerly incarcerated people.

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