Lyndon Larouche and the New American Fascism (Hardcover)

by Dennis King (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A Trotskyist in the 1940s, four-time presidential candidate, head of the National Democratic Policy Committee, right-wing extremist Lyndon LaRouche was recently convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges. King, a journalist who has unveiled the workings of the LaRouche cult almost singlehandedly over the years, here produces a courageous, hard-hitting expose. The LaRouchians raised over $200 million in loans and donations from the public, despite what the author describes as the sect's "classic fascist" ideology, anti-Semitism, brain-washing, smear tactics and fanatical support of the Star Wars defense system and military build-up. According to King, LaRouche's eccentric posturing (he claimed the Queen of England was a drug pusher and branded Henry Kissinger a communist agent) was useful cover--a pose to distract the media while LaRouche forged bonds with the Reagan administration, the CIA, the National Security Council, the Ku Klux Klan and other white-supremacist groups, Teamster bosses and crime lords, among others. King charges that the major media looked the other way, adopting a "see-no-evil" policy that allowed LaRouche to flourish.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In this portrait of LaRouche and his followers, journalist King provides a case study of the development of a radical movement. He discusses LaRouche's childhood, which helped to shape LaRouche's particular world view, as well as LaRouche's strange odyssey from left-wing Marxist to right-wing leader of the reactionary National Democratic Policy Committee. King examines the bizarre coalitions--the Ku Klux Klan and black civil rights groups, for example--that LaRouche has managed to form and galvanize into political action. LaRouche has also managed to maintain ties to such disparate figures as Manuel Noriega and Teamsters' boss Jackie Presser. This is a riveting narrative about a man who would say or do anything to gain personal power and who seems to have used his blatant anti-Semitism to successfully entice followers.
- Frank Kessler, Missouri Western State Coll., St. Joseph
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 415 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (January 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385238800
• ISBN-13: 978-0385238809
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,212,868 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What really happened, June 15, 2001

By A Customer

Dennis King has given us a startling insight into right wing lunacy in Ameica and its interreaction with the greater community. Laouche used, and was used by, important contemporaries.

There are few other sources that show the links between the radical right and the mainstream as well. They are not alone.cd. Timothy McVeigh.

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why do you think the LaRouchies hate this book?, October 7, 1999

By A Customer

This book is probably the best-researched book on the LaRouche cult to be published. The LaRouche cult has started many organizations over the years, basically to present different faces to the broad public. King's book tries to show how a charismatic leader could bring a communist cadre organization out of the student left, transform it into an opportunistic fundraising machine and cozy up to the fascist right in this country, all while purporting to be the cadre who would help save the world from the evil villains (as they identify them) of the moment. Clearly the book ends while the cult still survives behind various front organizations, so if you feel impressed with the LaRouchies, then do yourself a favor: before you commit your savings or make major career decisions on behalf of that group, read this book.

16 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The single best book of this kind there is., March 6, 1998

By A Customer

It is rare when someone is able to so profoundly understand how a politically subversive man and his organization can infiltrate into American life. If we learn anything from Dennis King, it is that American liberty can be used for good and it is vulnerable to those who would destroy it. In the latter case, the only remedy is for Americans to understand and to take action against men like Lyndon LaRouche and his fanatical followers. Particularly important in Lyndon LaRouches and the New American Fascism is a magnificent analysis of the "code" language that is used by these fanatics to confuse the public, while communicating with others who are like-minded. Dennis King ought to be commended for great effort to protect the Constitution and the American republic!