Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead is Frank Meeink’s raw telling of his descent into America’s Nazi underground and his ultimate triumph over drugs and hatred. Frank’s violent childhood in South Philadelphia primed him to hate, while addiction made him easy prey for a small group of skinhead gang recruiters. By 16 he had become one of the most notorious skinhead gang leaders on the East Coast and by 18 he was doing hard time. Teamed up with African-American players in a prison football league, Frank learned to question his hatred, and after being paroled he defected from the white supremacy movement and began speaking on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League. A story of fighting the demons of hatred and addiction, Frank's downfall and ultimate redemption has the power to open hearts and change lives.
Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this profound memoir, reformed skinhead Meeink, with assistance from academic and activist Roy (Love to Hate: America's Obsession with Hatred and Violence), recounts his former life as a Neo-Nazi. Told with passion and clarity, Meeink's story begins with neglectful parents and an abusive, junkie stepfather, who sowed the anger and hatred that would make him a prime candidate for the Neo-Nazi movement that exploded in Philadelphia through the late 1980s and '90s. Before long, Meeink's mutual embrace with the National Alliance led him to his own gang of recruits and a (largely random) "holy war" that would end up haunting him: "How many of my victims had wished for death while I brutalized them?" In federal prison at age 17, surrounded by cons of all races and creeds, Meeink first began to question what he'd been taught about the "elite" Aryan race; the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing would complete his transformation, leading him to seek out the feds for confession. A brutal tour of modern American racism at its worst, a case study of traumatized youth and drug addiction, and a stark reminder of the human capacity for redemption, Meeink and Roy's account is a shocking but ultimately reaffirming read.
From Booklist
Here’s a memoir guaranteed to generate a high amount of interest (and probably controversy). Before he was out of his teens, Meeink, a member of a group of white supremacists, was behind prison bars. But by the time he was released on parole, he was a changed man, having cast off his hatred; he became a public speaker, sharing his experiences, helping others to understand the nature of hatred and to find ways to combat it. Stories of personal redemption don’t get much more interesting than this one, and the gritty first-person narrative (in the episodic format associated with “as told to” autobiographies) draws the reader into Meeink’s story, giving it an immediacy and a visceral intensity that makes us feel as though we’ve lived a bit of his life. Readers should be warned that the book is unflinchingly straightforward: some of the language is quite raw, and some of the imagery quite graphic. But there’s absolutely no point in telling this story if you’re going to whitewash it first. --David Pitt
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Customer Reviews
“ I'll be perfectly honest-- other then assigned books that I HAD to read for high school and college, I rarely pick up biographies or autobiographies at a bookstore. ”
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By L. Rostig
Format:Paperback
This book changed me. I have always wondered, "How can people be so hateful?" Nobody is born a racist. Frank spells it out in absolute honesty how to build an army of haters. Page 151 reads, "I didn't need to bother recruiting racists. All I did was befriend kids who were pissed off about being picked on day in and day out. I trusted them to pay me back with loyalty. I trusted that I could turn their humiliation into hate. All I had to do was redirect their rage until it came thundering back as racism." If you get nothing else out of this book, it is the need to be compassionate. Kids aren't the only ones picked on day in and day out. I am grateful to this author for being so brutally honest about his past and present. Frank Meeinks doesn't wrap this book up with a nice bow at the end...he is still working towards making his life better...one day at a time. And I'm absolutely a better person because of his journey.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I got home late to find that it had finally arrived! My wife pre-ordered it from Amazon back in December for my birthday, so I had a long wait. I thought, "I'll just read a chapter or two before going to bed". Although I twice closed it and turned the light off knowing that I needed to get up to work early the next morning, I turned the light back on, opened it back up, and continued reading until I finished it at about 4 a.m. The lost sleep was definitely worth it.
My first thought was, "Wow. I've led a pretty sheltered life." I've never thought that before. I've had a much more diverse life than the vast majority of people I know, but it's no comparison to what I read about Frank's life.
I especially recommend this to anyone who works with youth at risk. When I worked as a counselor and teacher I talked to hundreds of kids who had been through similar things and read every article and book I could find to give me insight to their world. Before reading this, the best picture I had came from reading "Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member", by Sanyika Shakur. But it merely scratches the surface when compared to the depth of "Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead". The strength of this book is that he accomplishes what I always implored my students to do: Frank "shows", instead of "tells". He doesn't have to say, "I became a skinhead because..." or "I drank because...". He paints such a vivid picture of his life that you don't have to ask why, you know why.
Do be aware that it is very vivid. I definitely would not recommend this to someone who doesn't have the maturity to handle the truth of violence and addiction. Frank doesn't candy coat anything.
The final thing that sets this book apart from other books of this genre is the way it speaks openly without turning into bragging. Other authors either water down the past to make themselves look better, or they write with a "look how bad I was!" bravado that leads me to question the sincerity of their reformation. With them I found myself thinking, "You're just sorry you got caught". This book went to the edge but didn't fall over the precipice into boasting. I've never read anything that balanced that so masterfully.
My first thought was, "Wow. I've led a pretty sheltered life." I've never thought that before. I've had a much more diverse life than the vast majority of people I know, but it's no comparison to what I read about Frank's life.
I especially recommend this to anyone who works with youth at risk. When I worked as a counselor and teacher I talked to hundreds of kids who had been through similar things and read every article and book I could find to give me insight to their world. Before reading this, the best picture I had came from reading "Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member", by Sanyika Shakur. But it merely scratches the surface when compared to the depth of "Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead". The strength of this book is that he accomplishes what I always implored my students to do: Frank "shows", instead of "tells". He doesn't have to say, "I became a skinhead because..." or "I drank because...". He paints such a vivid picture of his life that you don't have to ask why, you know why.
Do be aware that it is very vivid. I definitely would not recommend this to someone who doesn't have the maturity to handle the truth of violence and addiction. Frank doesn't candy coat anything.
The final thing that sets this book apart from other books of this genre is the way it speaks openly without turning into bragging. Other authors either water down the past to make themselves look better, or they write with a "look how bad I was!" bravado that leads me to question the sincerity of their reformation. With them I found myself thinking, "You're just sorry you got caught". This book went to the edge but didn't fall over the precipice into boasting. I've never read anything that balanced that so masterfully.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By Don Garvey
Format:Paperback
Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead is a very strong read - while the subject matter is often very grim and upsetting, the writing style and pacing is spot on. This book isn't a bite sized blurb on a talk show that focuses on grisly voyeuristic details, this is a story about a complete person. Frank never seeks sympathy for what he became or what he did yet the reader is given the opportunity to see the human behind the hate and not the one-dimensional caricatures we so often see in expose's. The portrait of young, frightened, and angry kids (often fatherless) looking for belonging, protection, and lets face it - girls and booze, being brought together by the insidious vehicle of racism is profound. The white supremacy movement provides that supposed brotherhood, and so much more in the way of "cluing in" young people to "the truth", supposedly educating them in the real world, and ultimately turning them into unbridled violent monsters. If you are a parent and your child is exhibiting any of the inclinations you read about in Frank's book or starts hanging around with any people that fit the profiles described within, step in and step in fast.
This is not a book about blame or excuses. Frank's difficult early life is described in detail, but like any great memoir, we are never asked to excuse anything because of it. I am absolutely in awe of Frank and what he's become despite where he's been. This book should become standard curriculum for any course studying gangs or hate groups.
This is not a book about blame or excuses. Frank's difficult early life is described in detail, but like any great memoir, we are never asked to excuse anything because of it. I am absolutely in awe of Frank and what he's become despite where he's been. This book should become standard curriculum for any course studying gangs or hate groups.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Insight
This book taught me just what it was like to be inside the skinhead movement. It explains why anyone would gravitate toward such a nihilistic existence. Read more
Published 15 days ago by GM
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read!
This is the first book I purchased with my Fire HD and I must say it was worth every penny. It had a good balance between his childhood, getting into the lifestyle, the years as... Read more
Published 1 month ago by David Bailey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Autobiography of a recovering skinhead
Truly amazing read. So honest & at times hard to get through. You find yourself hating this man for his choices & rooting him on for the inevitable outcome.
Published 2 months ago by Morgan M. Fleming
4.0 out of 5 stars
Frank Meeink Story
Great autobiography. It's hard for people who have never had a drug addiction to fully understand how hard it is to break a habit. Good read
Published 3 months ago by Joan
1.0 out of 5 stars
Complete Bulls@*t
Frank Meeink. What a lying clown. Makes his money as a professional ex-skinhead, like about a dozen other rejects on the circuit right now, who are all funded by the multi-million... Read more
Published 5 months ago by ACAB
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courageous
Very well written, honest and engrossing. This book should be read by everyone regardless of age or belief system. Read more
Published 12 months ago by ZB's Mom
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing Story
I read this book for a school assignment, and it was probably the most consuming book I've ever read in high school. Read more
Published 16 months ago by B. J. Hill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extraordinary Story
I first heard Frankie Meeink speak at a vigil for a teen that was murdered in Waterloo, Iowa. He was a last minute addition to the group speaking that night, but his message left... Read more
Published 20 months ago by rpiowa50009
5.0 out of 5 stars
Road to Redemption and Forgiveness
I'll be perfectly honest-- other then assigned books that I HAD to read for high school and college, I rarely pick up biographies or autobiographies at a bookstore. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mia N. Searles
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderfuly written in the most raw way
This was a great book and like many others who wrote a review for it, I couldn't help but feel passion reading Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead. Read more
Published 21 months ago by azngurl527
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