The book was first scheduled for release on September24, 2024, and was originally titled Dawn's Early Light: Burning Down Washington to Save America before being re-titled to Dawn's Early Light: Taking Back Washington to Save America.[1] The volume includes a foreword by vice president-elect JD Vance.[2][3] Amid the controversy surrounding Project 2025, in August 2024 Roberts postponed the book release until after the November election.[4]
In the foreword Vance writes that it is "time to circle the wagons and load the muskets."[5]
Reception
Colin Dickey of The New Republic says the book reveals planned "paranoid, Stalinist tactics" like using conspiracy theories to violently enforce the right's vision for the world,[6] citing how Roberts criticizes birth control and law enforcement (preferring more of a heavily armed frontier-like society), while promoting public prayer as a key tool in the competition with China.[6]