Willis Carto and the American Far Right [Hardcover]

George Michael (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2008

"An important book that casts much needed light on one of the most significant and previously elusive figures of the contemporary American far right. It will be of great interest to historians, political scientists, and sociologists alike."--Darren Mulloy,

Wilfrid Laurier University

 

"A wide-ranging and well-informed study of a major figure on the American far right."--Martin Durham, University of Wolverhampton

 

Willis Carto (b. 1926) is arguably the most important radical conservative in postwar America. Best known as the founder of the infamous Liberty Lobby, he has shaped the far right's position on such issues as immigration, globalization, multiculturalism, Holocaust denial, and the conflict in the Middle East.

 

Granted remarkable personal access to the notoriously reclusive Carto, George Michael has written a fascinating biography. Throughout his long political career, Carto has sought to unite the various movements that make up the far right. Toward that end, he has reached out to individuals from both the fringe and the mainstream.

 

Michael provides an account of the various publishing and organizational ventures in which Carto has been involved, including the Institute for Historical Review, The Spotlight, Youth for Wallace, the Populist Party, American Free Press, andthe political career of David Duke. The result is a captivating portrait of this dedicated, frightening, and controversial man.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

"An important book that casts much needed light on one of the most significant and previously elusive figures of the contemporary American far right. It will be of great interest to historians, political scientists, and sociologists alike."--Darren Mulloy,

Wilfrid Laurier University

 

"A wide-ranging and well-informed study of a major figure on the American far right."--Martin Durham, University of Wolverhampton

 

Willis Carto (b. 1926) is arguably the most important radical conservative in postwar America. Best known as the founder of the infamous Liberty Lobby, he has shaped the far right's position on such issues as immigration, globalization, multiculturalism, Holocaust denial, and the conflict in the Middle East.

 

Granted remarkable personal access to the notoriously reclusive Carto, George Michael has written a fascinating biography. Throughout his long political career, Carto has sought to unite the various movements that make up the far right. Toward that end, he has reached out to individuals from both the fringe and the mainstream.

 

Michael provides an account of the various publishing and organizational ventures in which Carto has been involved, including the Institute for Historical Review, The Spotlight, Youth for Wallace, the Populist Party, American Free Press, andthe political career of David Duke. The result is a captivating portrait of this dedicated, frightening, and controversial man.

About the Author

George Michael, assistant professor of political science at the University of Virginia’s college at Wise, is the author of Confronting Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism in the USA and The Enemy of My Enemy: The Alarming Convergences of Militant Islam and the Extreme Right.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Florida; 1st edition (March 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813031982
• ISBN-13: 978-0813031989
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,172,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Right Book for Americans Left in Ignorance, May 25, 2009

By 

Richard Clark - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Willis Carto and the American Far Right (Hardcover)

In view of the fact there are so many American concepts concerning what's "right", what's "left," what's "conservative" and what's "liberal," it is with much appreciation that many readers will welcome George Michael's analysis.

Historical research plays a prominent role in his book, and this gives it the credibilty and subsequent value it deserves. In an American century that endured the 9/11 crisis toward the beginning, and is only now beginning to see governmental decisions declassified, I am reminded of a statement given by C.P. Snow in 1960: "It is very easy, in an atmosphere of crisis, in the midst of secret decisions, for men to surrender both their reason and their will."

Small wonder, then, that Rush Limbaugh doesn't appear in the index, but Willis Carto and Francis Parker Yockey do. I doubt many Limbaugh-schooled conservatives have ever heard of Carto and Yockey. Michael offers them an opportunity to expand their education. But, with Snow's wisdom in mind, is there any reason to believe they will?

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview of 20th Century Right Wing Politics, January 27, 2009

By 

Sussex Pond Pudding (Somewhere in the desert, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Willis Carto and the American Far Right (Hardcover)

This is a very good, surprisingly objective biography of one of the "far right's" most influential figures. With assistance from Carto himself, Michael gives a very detailed overview of Carto's life and the events in history that surrounded it. He does an excellent job of tracing the unities and disunities of the right for the past century, using Carto's activities as a sort of framework to give shape to what can be a very confusing subject. Despite poor editing (sometimes it reads like a collection of magazine articles and essays than a cohesive book...not the author's fault, I am sure) it is a page-turner for anyone interested in the subject. Most readers, I imagine, will come across at least one name that they have never heard of before. Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This author REALLY knows his subject, has captured it objectively, and writes of it in a most entertaining fashion., November 25, 2011

By 

Todd Blodgett - See all my reviews

This review is from: Willis Carto and the American Far Right (Hardcover)

Having first met Willis Carto in 1985 or '86, and with my advertising agency later representing Liberty Lobby/SPOTLIGHT from 1994-98, I spent much time with Mr. Carto and got to know him extremely well. Professor Michael, whom I met around 2002, has done an excellent job of compiling this complete and analytical biography of the leading figure of the U.S. Far Right, who not only dominated the scene from the 1950s until Liberty Lobby's 2001 downfall, but who still, in a diminished yet still influential way, plays an important role in the racist Right movement. It had to have been difficult for a highly respected academician to take on the biography of such a complex subject, even with the cooperation of Carto, himself, but Michael comes through at every turn. Whether you're a journalist, a student, a Professor, or someone who is simply interested in a great read about a truly fascinating (yet, often - in my view - sinister) individual and his politics, this is your book. Take it from one who knows firsthand: George Michael has nailed his subject, warts and all, and done it fairly and squarely. To understand this towering figure of the postwar American Far Right, you need go no further than this book.

- TODD A. BLODGETT