Customer Reviews

Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke has written two outstanding books on Nazism and its links to religious/occult philosophies and figures: "The Occult Roots of Nazism" and "Hitler's Priestess." In both of those previous books (the first based on his doctoral dissertation at Oxford), he engaged in prodigious original source research and showed a bright light on subjects that had previously received either little attention or sloppy sensationalistic treatment.

If "Black Sun" is a trifle disappointing, it is so only by comparision with his own earlier achievements. This latest work is much more journalistic and relies, unfortunately, on others' research more often than not. Moreover, Goodrick-Clarke, in attempting a survey of current aryan/Neo-Nazi/Satanic/far right groups and writings, ends up covering ground already covered in books like Joscelyn Godwin's "Arktos," Kevin Coogan's "Dreamer of the Day," and his own "Hitler's Priestess" (which is about Savitri Devi, who combined Hinduism and Hitlerism).

It is not as if Goodrick-Clarke didn't spend his time in the trenches: it appears that he engaged in extensive correspondence with a number of his subjects and, as always, he has obviously read and digested much of the material that he summarizes in a clear-cut fashion. His chapter on Miguel Serrano breaks new ground in reporting on the extent of that author/diplomat's eccentric Hitler worship. But on other figures of the neo-nazi fringe, such as David Myatt, one is left with the impression that Goodrick-Clarke may have given too much credence to their own self-presentation or, conversely, to the hyperbole of their critics.

Make no mistake, this is as good a summary of present neo-nazi, extreme right ideas and personae as one is likely to find, but in dealing with the current scene - in a book that was written over the course of nearly a decade - "Black Sun" falls prey to the criticism, (voiced in some other reviews here,) that it is not entirely accurate or up to date. Especially in dealing with the knotty and ambiguous area of neo-nazi and Satanic overlaps, Goodrick-Clarke would have benefitted from inside information which was apparently beyond his grasp.

Still, it is never quite cricket to criticize a book for what a critic thinks it should be or might have been. There is much information here that cannot be found anywhere else, and with the caveat that one should double check any facts that may have been superceded by subsequent events, "Black Sun" is a compelling read.

This book is an obvious attempt at an 'apology' for his most popular book, _The Occult Roots of Nazism_, which became required reading for many of the neo-Nazi groups he speaks of in his latest offering. You would think Goodrick-Clarke would have seen this coming after sensationalising the title from its original (his doctoral thesis), and then plastering the black and red front cover with the swastika and dagger emblem of the Thule Society!

_Black Sun_ is simply an overview of the very marginalized groups that form the extreme neo-Nazi right, and a lot of the material is regurgitated from his book on Savitri Devi.

Nazi/UFO's/Antarctica/The Coming Race etc... is a very fun topic, but trying to ascribe its loony adherents with the terrorist label is sensationalism at best, and completely factually inaccurate at worst.

The nice front cover featuring a 'Black Sun' struck with the Sig rune will sell many copies at Aryan white-power rallies until they figure out what it's really about.

In this book, Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke tries to give an account of the continuation of much of the Nazi philosophy after the demise of the Third Reich. However, after his previous work _The Occult Roots of Nazism_ this book is surely a large disappointment. The book presents chapters on the American NeoNazis (especially Rockwell), British Nazis (including Colin Jordan and "Combat 18"), Julius Evola, Francis Parker Yockey and James Madole, Savitri Devi, a collection of "mysterious" and occult phenomena surrounding the Third Reich, Wilhelm Landig, UFOs and Antarctic underground bases, Miguel Serrano, black metal, Nazi Satanism, Christian Identity, Nordic paganism, and conspiracy beliefs regarding the New World Order. Unfortunately, there is very little holding this book together and it is rather poorly written. Although the book is entertaining, some of the weirdest things you are likely to read about, it fails to achieve any sort of conclusion at all and resorts to gratuitous references to terrorism (the events of September 11, unconnected with Nazism at all).

For a much better account of NeoNazi and far right beliefs read either: _Arktos_ by Joscelyn Godwin or _Dreamer of the Day_ by Kevin Coogan.

Savvy fundraisers that they are, it has always been the policy of watchdog groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center to pretend that their 'intelligence gathering' is necessary to ferret out sinister neo-Nazi conspirators, tucked away within ultra-secret underground enclaves and communicating through hidden networks only the watchdogs can sniff out. The reality, of course, is that anyone with access to the Internet can get the goods on the secret Aryans. The truly adventurous hate-hunter need only open a P.O. Box, sign a few postcards with a friendly "Sieg Heil," and prepare to be inundated in a sea of third-generation Xeroxed flyers, poorly-written fanzines, homemade stickers and other powerful and dangerous hate propaganda. The secret Aryans love to talk about themselves and their ideas. Despite Goodrick-Clarke's calculated and constant allusions to "terrorism," that's pretty much all they ever do.

Which brings us to the obvious question: Why does one get the impression that Goodrick-Clarke hasn't talked to any of these people? How is it that virtually every "factual" statement in his book is confused or incorrect? And what does George Lincoln Rockwell -- a fairly conventional, old-timey hatemonger in a Nazi Halloween costume -- have to do with "esoteric cults?"

Goodrick-Clarke is at his worst when trying to maneuver his way through the various youth culture phenomena vaguely relevant to his topic. This is a trait I've noticed with other academic writers, who tend to lose their bearings even around more innocuous genres like Punk Rock or Hip-Hop. The charitable explanation is that a tweedy old fogey like Goodrick-Clarke is simply out of his element. The less charitable explanation is that he hasn't bothered to do any research, being well-aware that the people he's writing about will never be in a position to contradict him.

An interesting book could have been written on the esoteric currents within the Far Right, and maybe someday one will be. It's not even important what sort of spin one might put on this (and here's one of many confusing things about Black Sun -- after going on and on about how bad the Aryans are, Goodrick-Clarke concludes his study very nearly expressing sympathy with many of their fundamental grievances). If Black Sun had managed to get the facts straight or provide some type of unique (or even coherent) insight as to "what it all means," it might have been a worthwhile read. But it does neither. A sloppy, poorly researched mess, which might make its author a few quick bucks, but has little to offer the rest of us. Avoid.

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BLACK SUN is a lurid attempt to magnify a few dozen neo-Nazis with occult beliefs into an alarming threat to Western Civilization, all in order to sell books. Jumping on the post-9-11 bandwagon, Goodrick-Clarke constantlyplays the terrorism card as if it were neo-Nazis who flew those planes on the fateful day.

All of Goodrick-Clarke's authorial decisions seem guided by sensationalism rather than a committment to sound and scrupulous scholarship. For instance, in his chapter on Nordic Paganism, he devotes a good deal of space to amateurish writings of David Lane, a jailed member of the terroristgang The Order, but he neglects the vast scholarly literature produced by genteel men with Ph.D.s. like Edred Thorsson. In his chapter on music, he devotes a good deal of space to skinhead music. Skinheads do not, of course, have any connection to the "cult" theme of the book, but they have a reputation for violence. But he ignores such bands as Death in June and Current 93, who fit nicely into the cult theme. Maybe they were left out because none of their members are in prison. Or maybe Goodrick-Clarke is such a spotty researcher that he has never heard of them.

The book also reads like it was hastily slapped together. The writing is dull and repetitive. Large chunks of two chapters are lifted almost word-for-word out of Goodrick-Clarke's biography of Savitri Devi. The selection of photographs also seems hasty.

Yes, BLACK SUN contains some interesting information, and it is sometimes amusing in spite of its dull style. I found the chapter on the Nazi UFO theories to be particularly informative. But overall, this book is a waste of time and money, of interest only to the few dozen cranks who are puffed and profiled in its pages. Goodrick-Clarke might even convince them that they are somebody, but he does not convince me.

I will try very hard to remain within the realm of critique and not drift into essay form and turn this review into a diatribe on my my own right-wing political ideas.

Firstly, I admire Goodrick-Clarke for exposing a large readership to the many fascinating ideas that circulate amongst the fringes of right-wing personalities and movements. I am quite sure that his intention is not to inspire those of us with this political bent but he does through exposure to figures we may not encounter otherwise. Foremost amongst them being Saviti Devi, to whom he has dedicated an entire book (Hitler's Priestess: Savitri Devi, the Hindu-Aryan Myth, and Neo-Nazism). I highly recommend it by the way and have written a review of it for those of you who are interested. What does bother me, as I state in the above mentioned review, is his consistent portrayal of everyone on the far-right as politically perverse lunatics. Surely with his in depth study of these ideas he must not truly believe this is accurate. Is he a bad journalist or is he trying to simply pacify his publisher? Perhaps both. That having been said, I do recommend this book for anyone interested in the subject.

As other reviewers have pointed out this book does contain a number of factual errors, none that I deem worthy of using to pan the book as others have done. The odd error here and there, especially while trying to cover such a vast array of information, can be forgiven and in no way detracts from the overall impact of the book.

The importance of this book is in the impression one gets of the far-right as a whole: a mess of movements, often at odds with one another on fundamental issues, and filled with too many thugs and "low IQed" people who seem to fall for anything if it justifies their particular political position. When ideas start cropping up about flying saucers bringing white Germans to Earth from Aldeberon we have trouble. Even if this were true there is not even a slight chance of ever getting these ideas out into the mainstream and saving the White Race. Instead it furthers the notion of a crackpot, hillbilly White right-wing that has no basis for their beliefs and are simply emotional hate-mongers. This does much, much more damage to our cause than the Jewish-owned media ever could by themselves. It gives them tools to keep the average white man from taking his survival and race seriously and so he goes back to watching Monday Night Football and eating pork rinds, content to vote Republican or Democrat based on his pocketbook. There is room for such ideas in the world but they must be kept on the fringe where they belong. A responsible White Nationalist would do everything in his power to keep these idiots separate from the movement. They offer nothing of value, spiritually or politically. This book tends to dwell on those types, furthering my notion that solidarity must involve an intellectual elite capable of weeding out the rednecks, thugs, bullies and freaks. The Far-Right lacks leadership. The closest we have come since Hitler has been David Duke, and although he has done much to change his image and I admire him in many ways, he will always be portrayed as a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon, an organization that rightly belongs on the ash heap of history and embodies the popular perception of every Far Right movement in America and around the world. It is interesting that this book mentions him not once. This is surely due to his sanity which, juxtaposed with the nuts portrayed so often in this book, would undermine Goodrick-Clarke's agenda.

All in all, this is a fascinating read. Mostly, for me, because it makes so clear the need for a new, reformed, civil, intellectual, cultured right-wing. We must distance ourselves from those who base their beliefs on nothing but pure hate without any knowledge of history, religion, etc. other than what they read in the various black metal and satanic/pseudo-Nazi fanzines (perhaps the most ridiculous group discussed in this book...the chapter is filled with laughs).

Highly recommended with the above caveats.

Maybe you've read some stuff by Nicolas Goodricke-Clarke, his most well known books are The Occult Roots of Nazism, which I have never found. My local library has his follow-up, The Black Sun. It's a pretty good read, although considering the amount of credibility lent to his name by other writers on such topics (e.g. Levenda) I find him a li'l bit sensationalist and ready to jump to conclusions. It starts with the fall of a certain Reich and the creation of a literary defense of it actions, especially on the racial and occult levels. Dude does give a really good survey of writers pre- and post- Third Reich who shared the Elitist views of European culture in decline with populism, socialism, Marx and Jews in general being the main culprits. Goodrick-Clarke goes a long way to define and spotlight such threads as Occult Nazism, Nazi Satanists, the weird germination of Nazism in America and how that, more than an unbroken thread of native German Nazism gave way to today's current Racist Right in Europe.
Still, as mentioned before, I think there is more than a whiff of sensationalism, in that despite his careful definitions of the strands mentioned above, he kind of wants to lump most occultists with Satanists (which should really be a screaming red flag of sloppy research, or some Xian fundie roots to his thinking) as well as at least 3 instances of dude equating a Mithraic reconstruction with occultic white supremacy, but you can see my transparent bias in that matter. How would an Aryan white-power Mithras have such huge resonance in the very multicultural Roman army? Still, if you want to find about every facet of Hitler's disembodied brain commanding the legion of flying saucers from his Antarctic base, this book is the first place to go.

_Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity_ by the scholar Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke is an excellent overview of the extremely bizarre beliefs and personages involved in neo-Nazi occultism. I will keep this review short for the sake of not flogging a dead horse.

The cover features the "Black Sun," supposedly a mystical Aryan symbol representing the pure and undiluted blood and power of the Germanic race, inscribed on the floor of Himmler's SS castle-headquarters. The book itself is very well written and logically organized. Neo-Nazi and pagan cosmology, Christian Identity beliefs regarding the Bible and New Age (i.e. anti-Christian) conspiracy theories (best exemplified by anarcho-libertarians Bill Cooper and David Icke) have striking similarities to the ancient dualist heresies of Gnosticism and Manicheanism. _Black Sun_ is an excellent book for anyone interested in the world's dark undercurrents of religious extremism and elitist beliefs about the cosmic clash of good versus evil manifested on the material plane.

This book shows some of the Nazi cults that have sprung up since WW 2 ended.Most of the European ones center around Odin/Wotan myths with occult theroies from the late 1850s-1900 throw in.Nazi UFO stories and tales of hidden bases all over the world are disscussed.Heavy metal music and black metal bands from Sweden,Norway and England are also looked into as the spreading of Neo-Nazi ideaology.American Nazi groups are also looked into and most of them are Christian based (Christian Identiny) and this is were it gets scary.Most of them believe the Aryan race are the decendents of Jesus and is their job to secure the destiny of a Aryan American.It is scary because if you look at a group like the Mormons you will see alot of close associatons of thought and belief.I could never have believed that American could descend into RAHOWA but with the rise of the Tea Party and people like Glenn Beck it looks like the Fourth Reich could rise in America.

This book is basically an attempt to get Americans all worried about a pretty harmless and pathetic bunch of right-wing cranks. Goodrick-Clarke blows their antics up to gargantuan proportions--along the way getting detail after detail wrong. Those who know anything about the American Right will find inaccuracies on--literally--every page... This book is pure sensationalism, not scholarship. It is also obviously a shameful attempt to capitalize on the hysteria following Sept. 11, by raising the bugaboo of "terrorism" throughout. Americans have little to fear from people who practice rune yodeling and believe that Nazi saucers are docked in Antarctica. In addition, the writing is dull. The whole thing is shoddy and seems hastily slapped together. Do not waste your time with this book!