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Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort 1st Edition

by
Chip Berlet (Author)
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Chip Berlet (Author), Matthew N. Lyons (Author)
3 out of 5 stars 16 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-1572305625
ISBN-10: 1572305622
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Product Details

  • Series: Critical Perspectives (Paperback)
  • Paperback: 499 pages
  • Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1572305622
  • ISBN-13: 978-1572305625
  • Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,029,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsNecessary Reading in Today's America
By Vampire Truth on November 5, 2004
Format: Paperback
A balanced historical account of a skein of American political thought that the authors argue persuasively is far more mainstream than most observers would want to believe.

It's interesting to read down some of the other contributions in the "Reader Reviews" and see how defensive some of the responses are. The reason this type of reaction is surprising is that there is nothing accusatory or inflammatory in this book's rhetoric and it is exhaustively and accurately researched. Demagogues of the left like the "populist" Andrew Jackson (here debunked as a genocidal Indian fighter and tool of private banking interests) and Louisiana's Depression era Kingfish Huey Long share page space with more recent anti-government bogies of the modern American right like David Duke and Pat Buchanan, and the co-opting of themes sounded by Right Wing populists like (Democrat) George Wallace by modern Republican presidents like Richard Nixon is honestly depicted.

What this book does not do is paint all people on the Republican side of the ledger as extremists. But when its chronology reaches contemporary times, it does recognize that the Republican Party has become a haven for or at least a tolerant silent partner in many of the ideas -- hatred of government, immigrant-bashing, the elevation of business interests at the expense of individual liberties, apocalyptic Christianity that seeks to impose a religious ideal on secular American society -- that have fueled anti-democratic Right Wing populist movements since the 1830s. Not to recognize this would be less than honest, since the whole point of this book is to demonstrate the continuity of Right-Wing Populism as an organizing principle of American political discourse.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsSuch difficult truths
By SubbEvil on June 14, 2005
Format: Paperback
'If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear' - Orwell.
Defensive and reactionary negative reviews of this book do not take away from the very relevant and necessary content of it. The fact that it hits a little close to home for some actually validates it, as the a authors argue (and rightly so) that dangerous right-wing populism doesn't just exist in so-called extremist neo-fascist groups such as the KKK (the KKK can hardly be considered a threat to anything anymore, mind you) and skinheads, but also in the back yards of suburban North America. It is now the American norm. Extremism as a mainstream ideology.
Read this book.
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3.0 out of 5 starsExhaustive and Exhausting
By Panopticonman on September 21, 2001
Format: Paperback
The schematic that Berlet and Lyons propose to categorize various right wing populist movements throughout American history in the beginning of this exhaustive and exhausting survey is a fairly reasonable analytical tool. The problem is that it tends to constrain the historical analysis because each group, introduced in sequence, must be fitted into it's proper place within the scheme. It wears thin pretty fast.
They've done their research, they cite the right authors, they dig deeply into the past, but soon it's all merely additive, not insightful. It works like this: first a description of this movement, then this one, both of which shared some traits, then this one which developed a new means of expressing their xenophobia, etc. What it all adds up to is that any insights about these groups, or their proliferation, tend to be located within a fairly narrow range of observation.
Still it's a good reference work, and, if you're interested in the learning some of the tactics used by these groups to destroy the last vestiges of the neoliberal orthodoxy, to draw boundaries around groups who are not white, not male, not Christian, not true Americans, this book is a good place to start.
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3.0 out of 5 starsPoor history, better political analysis
By A Customer on May 7, 2001
Format: Paperback
As a sympathetic reader, I was somewhat disappointed by this book. The first 8 chapters, which are a historical outline of right-wing populist movements, attempt to cover so much material that many controversial assertions are unsupported by examples or documentation. Lyons seems to find evidence for right wing movements among any group that ever expressed a racist thought (which includes most groups in earlier American history).
The second half of the book, dealing with modern developments, is much better, partly because Berlet has a more narrow focus and more space to develop his ideas. Still, he goes too far occasionally when he implies that everyone who holds traditional American Christian beliefs (such as traditional, heterosexual families, the return of Christ to the earth, divine inspiration in the writing of the Constitution) is part of this right-wing movement. It is important to distinguish between people whose Christian values lead them to oppose abortion, reform welfare and decry the degeneration of popular culture,while supportive of our nation,and those who are out to eliminate our pluralistic society and replace it with much more theocratic leadership.
In spite or these reservations, this book should frighten anyone who follows American politics today. These authors persuasively argue that the anti-democratic ideas we normally associate with extremists have integrated themselves into the mainstream, and have a suprisingly large influence in our politics. Hillary Clinton's comment about a 'vast, right-wing conspiracy' may have been overstated, but readers of this book will see that she wasn't that far off the mark.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 starsOverwhelmed with "facts", underwhelmed with understanding

I've had this book for a number of years but never got around to reading much of it. I'm glad that I waited until I studied capitalism and Marx in greater depth before reading the... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Jeff
5.0 out of 5 starsMasterful and Comprehensive!

The authors of this work did their homework on the tumultuous political strife of the 1930s and beyond very well.

Published on December 20, 2011 by James Price
1.0 out of 5 starsSoros Approved!

I had a a great time reading this book because it was sooo ridiculous. Once you understood the author's intent (which took about 3 pages) you knew what was coming in regards to... Read more

Published on January 31, 2010 by Herodotus
1.0 out of 5 starsWeak at best

This author needs to read his history. Not worth the time or the energy to read.

Published on January 7, 2010 by J. Ogburn
2.0 out of 5 starsRight-Wing Populism.

_Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort_ (2000) by Chip Berlet and Matthew N. Lyons was written following the Clinton era at the beginning of the Bush era, but... Read more

Published on August 18, 2009 by New Age of Barbarism
4.0 out of 5 starsExcellent Analysis, if a little overwrought

Anti-intellectualism has always driven the right-wing of American politics. Coupled with "Nativism", racism, and a whole host of chauvinistic "-isms", the right-wing has always... Read more

Published on August 3, 2006 by KLARN
4.0 out of 5 starsObviously necessary.

This is a sober, well-reasoned book that deserves a good look. One need only to glance at all the one-star reviews below to see how necessary it is. Scary folks.

Published on January 6, 2003 by Matthew Desmond
1.0 out of 5 starsIdiotic, Marxist sectarian crap

Chip Berlet thinks that anyone who isn't a left-liberal Democrat is part of the Ku Klux Klan. He spends some time attacking actual subversive groups - like the KKK, Aryan Nations,... Read more

Published on February 15, 2002
1.0 out of 5 starsBigoted nonsense

Chip Berlet sees the country awash with racists who want to take over the government, impose Old Testament-based laws on society, and ban the teaching of evolution in schools. Read more

Published on December 21, 2001
1.0 out of 5 starsBigoted trash by Bostonian dork

Chip Berlet thinks that evangelical Christians are out to take over the world and impose Fascism.
I wonder how Chip categorizes evangelical groups as "right-wing. Read more

Published on July 20, 2001

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