Customer Reviews

American Extremists

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When future American historians and political scientists look back at political extremism in the last half of the twentieth century, this is the book to which they will turn. It is thoroughly detailed and meticulously researched; in short the definitive work on this subject.

The following groups, along with their leaders, are covered.

THE FAR LEFT

Communist Party USA
Socialist Workers Party
Black Panther Party
Students for a Democratic Society
Progressive Labor Party
Revolutionary Action Movement
Revoluntionary Communist Party
Communist Workers Party

THE FAR RIGHT

Reverend Billy James Hargis and his Christian Crusade
The John Birch Society
The Christian Right
Willis Cato and Liberty Lobby
Robert Bolivar DePugh and the Minutemen
The Militias
Gerald L. K. Smith and Christian Nationalist Crusade
The LaRouche Network
Jewish Defense League
The Nation of Islam
Assorted Neo-Nazis
National States Rights Party
Ku Klux Klans

Appendix 1 contains 36 pages of fake quotes and forged documents extremists are fond of using.

Appendix 2 contains a handy guide for extremist watchers and lists their common characteristics and differences. It also lists some mainstream organizations which are sometimes considered extreme, but really are not.

A sample paragraph, from page 48 of American Extremists:

"McCarthyism existed on a half-truth. There were Communists in the United States and some of them were entirely anti-American and would like to do in our system of government. For the most part, however, the Communists, real or imagined, were of no significant security threat to our country. What was a greater threat was the witch-hunting and official and unofficial persecution of these people as heretics. One of the worst things extremists can do to a society, usually without intending to, is to cause it to overreact and burn down the barn to catch the rat, so to speak. The net effect of domestic extremism has been negligible. The net effect of attempts to exterminate it have been quite telling, a legacy that haunts us to this day."

"American Extremists" is the favorite book in my library, and, outside of the dictionary, the most useful.

I have not only read this book, I have also studied under John George extensively. The idea that Laird Wilcox is a member of the "right wing" or has strong ties to extremist groups is not only misleading, it is ludicrous. Both of the authors consider themsleves to be center left ideologically and somewhat libertarian when it comes to constitutional issues. Just because they are not alarmists does not mean they don't understand the dangers of extremism. Instead of trampling the constitution they recommend caution. If you are interested in "extremism" there are no finer authors and very few books that are as well written or as balanced.

Laird Wilcox has, in his spare time, made himself an expert on both extremes of the American political spectrum. This book, combining looks at groups ranging from the farthest left "Hoxhaist" Communist parties, out to the neo-Nazis on the right, belongs on the bookshelf of anybody interested in these movements. Unlike Morris Dees, Wilcox has no personal axe to grind against one side or the other, which makes this book's section on "militias" a refreshing change of pace in the media-impelled hysteria following the Oklahoma City bombing. He points out that "(H)ad Randy Weaver been a Black Panther, or David Koresh a feminist neo-pagan, some civil libertarians might have shown more interest (in the charges of government abuse of power in their cases.)" Buy this book; leave Dees' self-serving tome on the shelf.

This book is an exposee of some of the groups judged "extreme" by the authors on the far left and far right. These include communists, socialists, black nationalists, militias, white supremacists, Jewish extremists, Klansmen of various sorts, NeoNazis, and various religious fundamentalists. Fortunately, the authors do not take the smug politically correct stance that is taken by many academics writing about this topic. We learn that indeed the communist parties (CPUSA, for example) were likely linked to the Soviet Union. We learn that the militias are largely not racist. And, we are told that the events of Waco and Ruby Ridge were indeed totalitarian power plays. A decent account of some conspiracy theories is given as well. Overall, this book provides a much more objective view of "extremism" than is usually given by the politically correct in academia.

John George and Laird Wilcox have published the the most honest and fair-minded account of American extremists to date. I have met John George and have known Laird Wilcox for over 30 years. To suggest that he has ties to right-wingers is misleading. In order to amass the collection of extremist literature he has in Spencer Library at the University of Kansas he has had to develop some rapport with his subjects. He is open and honest with them, does't call them names or argue with them. Because he listens well, some individuals assume he is sympathetic when all he had done is treat them like human beings. I was active with Laird in the 1960's civil rights movement and I regard him as a maverick liberal who is genuinely committed to civil liberties and freedom of expression.

This book is the definitive work for anyone who wants to know about extremists in this country. I notice that one reviewer described the book as "tedious." I cannot agree. The book was extremely well researched, well written, and fascinating from one end to the other. A must read.

John George and Laird Wilcox present an extensive and surprisingly non-biased look at movements considered extreme compared to the standard liberal-conservative spectrum. The book examines the histories and personalities behind a host of marxist-leninist, religious fundamentalist and white supremacist organizations.

While the actual descriptions of the organizations are interesting, the book's real strength is in its analysis of the history of extremist movements and looks at what motivates people to join. Various theories explaining the attractiveness of extremist movements to certain types of people are explored. Perhaps best of all, the authors recognize that extremism is a matter of "style and tactics more than goals." The kinds of emotionally laden thinking, logical falicies and argumentative tactics that extremists tend to employ are analyzed. Yet the tone of the authors is generally non judgemental and they are quick to recognize the dangers of dismissing or worse, suppressing the rights of extremists. Repeatedly throughout the book the authors defend the rights of people to hold controversial views and warn of the dangers of violating the rights of those who hold unpopular opinions. Furthermore, in a day and age marked by liberal dominance over academic discourse, the authors are pleasantly centrist and without dogma or agenda. They are both equally hard and equally gentle with both left and right wing beliefs.

Yet the book is incomplete, especially in its treatment of the far left. The vast majority of leftist organizations looked at are Marxist-Leninist groups, which are quite dated in modern progressive thought. The authors concede that "Extreme radical feminists or environmentalists, for example, may be as "extreme" in their behaviors as the most dedicated Marxist Leninist" but do not look at a single such organization. Militant Minorities, Deep Ecology, Anti-War, Radical Feminism, Gay Pride, Postmodernism and Anarchism each command far more intellectual and activist vigor than Marxist Leninism, yet the only groups promoting any of the above discussed are the Black Panthers and possibly the Students for a Democratic Society. The omission of such groups as Earth First! or the Radical Feminist "Off Our Backs" collective makes their study of the political left incomplete.

On the subject of ideologies, there is a surprising lack of information about the precise beliefs of the groups studied. Far more is said about the histories and personalities of the groups, and some inclusion of each group's doctrine or "statement of principles" would have been nice. While any half way educated person probobly knows what a nazi or a communist believes, some inclusion of the doctrines of the groups examined would have rounded off the study rather nicely.

Yet the flaws are minor and the strengths are far more considerable. This book is essential for anyone seriously interested in radical thought in America today.

I had to read this book, because it was required for a Domestic Terrorism class I was taking. Reading this book is like watching paint dry. First of all, why would I read a book that was published 15 years ago if I want relevant information on today's Domestic Terrorism? But that is more of a hit on my professor than the book. The authors spend hundreds of pages on groups that did little more than write inflammatory literature and nothing more. They devote a couple of pages to Weather Underground (who actually conducted bombings) and then bore you to death with references to insignificant groups. Half of their chapters end with some form of "this group's members are in the dozens and are generally insignificant". If that's the case, then why write about them? They make reference to Timothy McVeigh, but only to say he was not part of a militia. Then they write about a bunch of boring militias that don't do anything but fish and wear camoflage. This book is absolutely worthless if you want to learn about "American Extremists". What a waste of my time. I would rather eat a big bag of hair than read this book again.

I purchased this book for an online Master's class. I didn't get much out of it as our professor assigned reading the whole book in 2 weeks. I returned the book, needless to say.

This fact filled tome will aggravate those with a fixed set of assumptions whether from the Left or the Right. The reason? They view themselves as exceptionally virtuous, morally superior, and they're convinced they are middle-of-the-road as to their beliefs. It doesn't take very long to see that this point of view leads to a distorted perception of reality i.e. if Dan Rather sees himself as middle of the road then moderate Libertarians would be far Right in the pantheon of his worldview. It's the same story with the abortion issue, particularly from the Right.

John George, a professor of Political Science and Sociology at Central Oklahoma University and Laird Wilcox, founder of the Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, are the book's authors. Wilcox has the largest collection of extremist literature in America and it can be found at the University of Kansas, home of copious fields of wheat, endless horizons and a highly successful basketball program.

They cover every facet of extreme political movements including what radical groups exist, who joins up and why, what do they want to accomplish, how far are they willing to go to achieve those ends, and the degree of danger we face should they achieve their ends. They begin by summarizing pre-60's movements, then morph into the makeup of conspiracy theories and what motivates extremists. They thoroughly document and detail a listing of contemporary groups in addition to adding an in-depth appendix of fake quotes and fabricated documents.

If you've ever wondered how the far-Left in America could fawn at the feet of a butcher like Fidel Castro or lap up the distorted and inaccurate screeds of a false intellectual like Noam Chomsky then go no further, it's all here. I'll share with you some insights in the book.

For the alienated and "ideologically prone", identification with a power figure or someone held up as an intellectual guru can serve as a mechanism to free them from anxieties and doubt. A failed ideology such as Socialism can thus continue to embody all their fantasies, utopian ideals, and hopes for the future. This phenomenon is repeated over and over throughout history from the heaven-on-earth promises of Communism to the heaven-hereafter central to the teachings of radical Christianity as well as radical Islamicism.

The "true believer" tends to believe in theories with little or no evidence to support his conclusions or predictions. Eric Hoffer addresses this condition in his book by the same name. Put another way "true believers" tend to believe what they tend to believe, a form of "petito pricipii", where dogma is presented which assumes the truth of the premise. It assumes that the thesis speaks for itself.

After pounding home this theme with his followers the guru uses selected facts, working backwards from his addled assumptions, to support his flawed thesis. Rituals are often invoked to soothe the listener by incorporating what amounts to the elements commonly found in the practice of hypnosis.

There is much, much more and it's all worthwhile if you're a student of people and how they come to believe what they do. This is the best book of its kind I've read, and I wish to say thanks to the authors, "I needed that". It was getting just too difficult to understand my Libertarian-Socialist-Communist friends let alone my friends of strong religious conviction. And, these are my friends! they're not even trying to kill me! We're a lucky bunch here in the USA.