Customer Reviews

Understanding the F-Word: American Fascism and the Politics of Illusion

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I ordered this book not long before the events of September 11 after reading the authors previous book. As I struggled to make sense of the events of that tragic day, I picked it up and began reading it and found it difficult to put down. I think that I now have a better perspective on where this 'war on terrorism' is heading and why. Please read this book as an antidote to what we are being told by our politicians and our press. We are on a very dangerous course. We will all pay a very high price for the actions now being taken. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

A Must Read! I discovered this book, when reading articles on the David McGowan's web site, The Center for an Informed America. Chapters 3, 7, 10, 28 and 29 from this book are available there as well as the author's regular newsletters offering alternative viewpoints on current events.

This book is not going to be popular, given the controversial title with many Americans. It is sure to draw criticism (or be ignored) by "the Right", the Republicans and Democrats alike. But within the pages, the author makes a compelling case that what we have in America today - looks, smells and feels an awful lot like fascism.

The release of the book couldn't possibly have been better timed, on the eve of the 9-11 attacks. When one considers that this book was actually written on the verge of the 2000 Presidential debacle, one gets the feeling that author David McGowan is somehow clairvoyant. Indeed, the post 9-11 flag-waving (bellicose nationalism), and the infinite "war on terrorism" (overt militarism), along with the USA Patriot and Homeland Security Acts (forcible suppression of opposition), fulfill a major part of the fascist definition, making this book even more apropos than it would otherwise have been.

Part of the book covers the history, in brief, of the last hundred years of U.S. Presidents, beginning with Teddy Roosevelt. This time capsule review reveals some major events and some largely suppressed "hidden events" detailing US imperialism that has been largely ignored in the history books. Presidential agendas are apparently neither Democratic nor Republican (though the Republican agenda would be a much closer approximation), but are simply "The Agenda". And apparently crooked politics, corruption and scandals have been much more prevalent than most people have been led to believe in carrying out this (corporate) agenda.

If you find yourself incredulous at the non-stop deluge of media drivel, this book will help explain why the media has become what it is, a propaganda arm of the government.

If the pre-emptive attack mentality of the current administration seems "a little" un-American to you, this book will offer some insight as to how and why things "are as they are" and perhaps offer a glimpse as to where it is we are heading.

As a bonus, the author has included some fascinating information on the human genome project, along with various other scientific experiments, including psychological warfare and the new and improved hybrid (seedless) crops and their potential use in future wars and (quite possibly) population control.

For further reading, I also recommend David C. Korten's "When Corporations Rule the World", Jim Marrs, "Rule by Secrecy", as well as David McGowan's, "Derailing Democracy". And of course who could do without George Orwell's, "1984" in times like these.

This is an excellent book. I read the whole thing in a day, because I couldn't stop.

The first section of the book deals with formal definitions of fascism and with characteristics of the US which meet those definitions. The second section is a series of sketches of US Presidents, chronologically, from Theodore Roosevelt to Bill Clinton. A number of recurring pernicious themes are illustrated in wry style. The last section covers the nightmare worlds of racist pseudoscience, electroshock, mind-control, lab-created plagues, MK-ULTRA, etc.

It's a very straightforward book, written in a conversational rather than an academic style. "Pleasant" isn't the right word -the book contains a great deal of extremely unpleasant information, but the author's style is engaging and thought-provoking in a way that made me want to keep reading.

I read many books preparing interviews for my worldwide webcast now in it's third year at www.Meria.net, but David has outdone himself with this book.
It is easy to read, quick, SHOCKING, and quite eye-opening. Just when I think I know and have read everything, something like this comes along.
Eugenics, Mystery men as President, Kelloggs of Battle Creek is more like Eugenics of Battle Creek, paints quite the scary picture of the lies we have been told and manipulated by for years. You may deny what you read, but your "heart" will tell you different. Wake up America.

This is far and away the most radical review of 20th century U.S. history that I have ever read! As a long time student of leftist literature, I thought that I had a pretty good understanding of America's role in the world, yet I was shocked by the revelations in this book. Well researched and well written, presented with equal parts wit and outrage, this is absolutely essential reading. This book is sure to ruffle some feathers, but don't be deterred by the negative reviews that it is sure to receive.

Benito Mussolini's book on fascism is titled "The Corporate State." Fascism takes its name from the reeds (fasces) bundeled around the handle of the double-bladed axe that was a symbol of the power of the ancient Roman state. The same bound axes are [coincidentally] on either side of the podium in the chambers of the U.S. Senate. Just because Mussolini was originally a socialist and one of the words condensed into 'nazi' is socialist does not make fascism in any way socialist. It is a system by and for capitalists. Only capitalists (and some politicians) are actually fascists. All others are merely employees who might be supporters or sympathizers. It is the binding together of corporate interests for the sake of the general corporate agenda that makes Fascism. All I can say is
read the book and decide for yourself. Bertram gross's "Friendly Fascism" is a comprehensive look at fascism that is also worth checking out.

...I did not get the impression that mr. mcgowan was saying that he had all the answers. He was relaying information and if you ever took a poli sci class one would know that the information on how different governments are structered is elementary and factual. He is just like the rest of us trying to figure out what is going on and attempting to open a debate among the american people.

This book is by far one of the most informative/educational books I have ever read. I enjoyed his first book and was not disappointed with the f-word. I recommend this book to everyone.

McGowan's thesis is that the US has been a fascist country for decades, and that democracy in America is a carefully manufactured delusion crafted by media, government, academia, etc.

I have been able to independently substantiate almost all of McGowan's allegations to various degrees, from certainty (CIA dominance in the drug trade) to the merely highly plausible (the Lewinsky Fiasco was a deliberate ruse to build support for the president as he went to war). McGowan's unconventional take on World War II is a marvel, well-argued and well-researched, but, like most of the book, poorly sourced. The book is written with energy, humor, and dramatic pacing that make it impossible to put down.

McGowan does fall short on occasion. He recounts how former presidents seem to disappear ominously in their childhood for years at a time. Of course, this becomes much less effective when one notes that later presidents who lived in the age of the social security card have their whereabouts accounted for, while presidents in the early 20th century spent their youths in the mid-to-late 19th century, where records would be more scarce and tracing the whereabouts of children and young adults more difficult. Many of these early presidents allegedly at least, came from fairly ordinary backgrounds and McGowan would render his readers a service by making it a bit more clear if the records of these figures during their youths are any more scarce than records of regular Americans who did not become president. He would also do his readers a service by offering more than innuendo regarding the significance of these alleged disappearances.

It is precisely the extent of speculation and lack of argumentative rigor that will make McGowan's thesis a tough sell to anyone not pre-disposed to agree with him or who hasn't already verified much of what he says. Those who have the pieces and are struggling to find an alternate narrative will find McGowan invaluable if they can tolerate McGowan's obvious biases. McGowan really lays the rhetoric on thick, flinging the f-word (the political one) so loosely and liberally that it often becomes a smear for anything he doesn't like.

For instance, while there is much not to like about Pat Buchanan, calling him a fascist is ludicrous. Buchanan has been the most vocal opponent of imperialism in the political establishment; he has always favored *reduced* government, and is a fierce critic of the surveillance state. He has called for tariffs, but has not shown any inclination towards corporatism. He has long been a legitimate opponent of the real fascists (the Bushes and the Neocons) to the point where they sabotaged his campaign against Bush in 96. McGowan answers that Buchanan is only posing as a populist, but he fails to understand that populist movements are generally not politically correct.

I don't say this to defend Buchannan, whose role in the book is marginal, but to emphasize the point that McGowan never talks about the *extent* of government power having anything to do with fascism, preferring to focus on whether or not the power is privatized, how it is employed, how it is gained, anything except *how much* power the state has. It is true that Fascism is ultimately a system of Privatized Corporate Power. Unfortunately for David's thesis, you cannot have fascism without Big Government. It is possible to have Libertarian societies (which is to say, *free* societies) with much misery and inequality. But private companies cannot go out and start foreign wars, issue coordinated campaigns of disinformation, or engage in massive surveillance of citizens without a monopoly of force backing them up. This is why there has never been any instance of small-government fascism that complies with all of McGowan's own criteria of what constitutes fascism. McGowan is on the money when he explains fascism as the ultimate end of Private Power as it seeks ever more power. Fascism is merely the campaign of lies that are required for citizens to submit to total servitude at the hands of corporations. There is a point, however, where private power requires the government apparatus to extend its power where private wealth alone cannot go. That is why Big Government was invented in the first place and first sold as the Welfare State.

There is a reason why McGowan does not like to dwell on the Big Government aspect of fascism. To to bring back a mercifully retired saw, Dave is "soft on Communism". It is one thing to say that the domino theory was a fraudulent excuse for continuous wars to expand and consolidate the power of the Corporation. (That much is evident.) It's quite another thing to sweep under the rug everything that was happening on the other side of the iron curtain or to pretend that Allende and Castro were anything other than Communist thugs. Perhaps you could argue that Chile deserved to get exactly what it voted for and learn from the experience, but Castro took Cuba in a CIA coup. McGowan's strident opposition to CIA coups seems to waver when they mess up and accidentally install a Soviet puppet.


McGowan has a nice little rubric where he contrasts economic systems (capitalism and socialism) with political systems (democracy and authoritarianism). He seems either to neglect the dimension of freedom (liberty vs. state power) or to confuse liberty with democracy. He does not draw sufficient distinction between market capitalism and corporatism, often lumping together these two polar opposites, to preserve his paradigm of democracy = good, not democracy = fascism, while at the same time stroking his socialist fetishes. Ergo, as a fan of both democracy and socialism, he can say that socialist democracy has "never been tried". I will hope he figures out eventually why democratic governance has a rather uneasy coexistence with highly centralized control of resources. The truth is out there, David.

There are actually good reasons why the National Socialists are described as socialists that go well beyond propaganda. They were collectivists who greatly expanded the influence of the state in matters of commerce, and all other arenas. This is what people generally call socialism. If the Corporate State attains power by demonizing various ethnic groups, pushing virulent jingoism, and militarizing the population, it is called fascism. If it gets its power by selling dreams of equality and demonizing capitalists, and then proceeds to do the exact same things the fascists do when in power, it's called Communism. I do not say this out of ideology. There is a great deal of room for honest debate about how power should be divided between people, states, and nations. But there are limits to what is reasonable, and Socialism, like Fascism, is outside those limits.

All that said, the book's strengths greatly outweigh its weaknesses and McGowan's message is a true and invaluable one, delivered with wit and conviction. My hope is that McGowan will eventually realize that Socialism ultimately is just as much about the politics of illusion as are Fascism or American "Democracy". If McGowan catches onto this (and his later writings seem to indicate that he is catching on) his writings will hopefully be just as illuminating for a wider audience, with less petty distractions.

Great book. Well, you might not agree if you think your 401K is more important than the tens of thousands of children who die from starvation each day (not a "conspiracy theory", a fact published by the UN). McGowan reveals the true properties of fascism, not the Hollywood portrayals, and demonstrates how each has existed here for many decades. He exposes the intimate relationships between the economic elites of North America and the fascists of World War II Europe. If your world view isn't already basically humanist, people before property, anti-racist, even anti-capitalist, then you probably won't agree with much that is in this book. If you're looking for the truth and have the courage to face it, this book will help fill in some of the blanks for you.