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Michael Parenti
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Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism Paperback – June 1, 1997

by Michael Parenti (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 900 ratings
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A bold and entertaining exploration of the epic struggles of yesterday and today.

Blackshirts & Reds explores some of the big issues of our time: fascism, capitalism, communism, revolution, democracy, and ecology. These terms are often bandied about, but seldom explored in the original and exciting way that has become Michael Parenti's trademark.

Parenti shows how "rational fascism" renders service to capitalism, how corporate power undermines democracy, and how revolutions are a mass empowerment against the forces of exploitative privilege. He also maps out the external and internal forces that destroyed communism, and the disastrous impact of the "free-market" victory on eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. He affirms the relevance of taboo ideologies like Marxism, demonstrating the importance of class analysis in understanding political realities and dealing with the ongoing collision between ecology and global corporatism.

Written with lucid and compelling style, this book goes beyond truncated modes of thought, inviting us to entertain iconoclastic views, and to ask why things are as they are.

"A penetrating and persuasive writer with an astonishing array of documentation to implement his attacks." —The Catholic Journalist

"By portraying the struggle between fascism and Communism in this century as a single conflict, and not a series of discrete encounters, between the insatiable need for new capital on the one hand and the survival of a system under siege on the other, Parenti defines fascism as the weapon of capitalism, not simply an extreme form of it. Fascism is not an aberration, he points out, but a 'rational' and integral component of the system."—Stan Goff, author of Full Spectrum Disorder: The Military in the New American Century

Michael Parenti, PhD Yale, is an internationally known author and lecturer. He is one of the nation's leading progressive political analysts. Author of over 275 published articles and twenty books, his writings are published in popular periodicals, scholarly journals, and his op-ed pieces have been in leading newspapers such as The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. His informative and entertaining books and talks have reached a wide range of audiences in North America and abroad.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    165 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    City Lights Publishers
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 1997
  5. Dimensions
    5.6 x 0.5 x 8.1 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0872863298
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0872863293
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

Praise from Nancy Peters for Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti

Praise from The Catholic Journalist for Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti

Praise from Stan Goff for Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Parenti, PhD Yale, is an internationally known author and lecturer. He is one of the nation's leading progressive political analysts. He is the author of over 250 published articles and seventeen books. His writings are published in popular periodicals, scholarly journals, and his op-ed pieces have been in leading newspapers such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. His informative and entertaining books and talks have reached a wide range of audiences in North America and abroad.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ City Lights Publishers; First Printing, Notations edition (June 1, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 165 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0872863298
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0872863293
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.6 x 0.5 x 8.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 900 ratings

About the author

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Michael Parenti

Michael Parenti

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Michael Parenti (Berkeley, CA) is the acclaimed author of more than twenty books, including, most recently, Contrary Notions: The Michael Parenti Reader; The Assassination of Julius Caesar; and The Culture Struggle. The New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post, the New York Review of Books, Harper's, The Nation, and Antioch Review, are among the countless publications that have praised Parenti's work. For further information, visit his Web site: michaelparenti.org

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
900 global ratings
just read it
5 Stars
just read it
doesn't matter if you're already a communist or not. you will be by the end of the book. it's extremely educational and eye-opening in sub-200 pages, and if there was only one book i could read for the rest of my life, it's this one. it's incredible but also frightening that
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Top reviews from the United States

Sandra Struble
5.0 out of 5 stars One of 15 year olds favorite books
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2024
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Yeah, he’s a history/economic/govt nerd.
2 people found this helpful
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Nargis Husainy
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2022
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As with many things in the world, the first step is to recognize there is a problem. We as humanity are placed in a life and death struggle against the oppressors(multinational corporation which have co-opted the very governments which are meant to protect us from such things) which rule us. The next step is to be informed. This is where this book is incredibly useful. It helps delineate how our oppressors use various social movements as a battering ram against our class consciousness. The working class will rise above and defeat our oppressors, but it will be an arduous process. Good luck.
30 people found this helpful
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Andrew Powers
5.0 out of 5 stars Read Parenti, not Chomsky
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2022
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I've never read Parenti 's actually writing, but have listened to many of his speeches. His approach to the topics in this book is both susinct and in plain enough language that I think anyone, regardless of their previous knowledge can understand. His work differs from other voices on the left because he doesn't feel the need to red-bash in order to be taken seriously. He presents his position without having to make up excuses or condemn revolutionary movements for their attributes that make some of the more cowardly leftists uncomfortable.
36 people found this helpful
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Alexander McLaughlin
5.0 out of 5 stars Teaches us to ask “Why?”
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2022
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I bought this text at a time of personal confusion. It truly is what it is reviewed and promoted as: a methodical examination of the forces that built our modern and thus contemporary world. A great text for those already committed to the struggle for equity, the citizen truly concerned about the future of our world, and even those disenchanted by the the usual cultural excuses who have the intellect and courage to ask “why”?
12 people found this helpful
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Joshua Rodriguez
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2021
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I haven’t picked up a book in about a year. I’ve been depressed. Hungry for some perspective and knowledge I stumbled upon this book through a recommendation. I don’t think anyone who has read the book with an open mind dislikes it. It’s showing fascism as a weapon of capitalism and does a great job at differentiating fascism from socialism. Helps me understand both a lot better and radicalized me a bit more. I recommend this book to anyone on the political spectrum if they can throw their pride aside.
6 people found this helpful
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Dr. Joe
4.0 out of 5 stars capitalism is a very real risk.
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023
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This is an excellent explanation of how capitalism is anti democratic and out of control. Unfortunately, there seems to be no peaceful solution presented. The 1% own the controlling governments and tools required for change.
4 people found this helpful
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Daniel Rapp
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2021
Verified Purchase
Oddly, my Amazon device tried to tell me the book was over after chapter 7. Heads up to future readers that there are more chapters.

I enjoyed reading this book and moved through it pretty quickly. I definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the rise of the authoritarian right and the falling out of communism. The book is about 20 years old at this point, but it still proves to be a great resource on learning from the past.
4 people found this helpful
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LM
5.0 out of 5 stars just read it
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2022
Verified Purchase
doesn't matter if you're already a communist or not. you will be by the end of the book. it's extremely educational and eye-opening in sub-200 pages, and if there was only one book i could read for the rest of my life, it's this one. it's incredible but also frightening that
Customer image
LM
5.0 out of 5 stars just read it
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2022
doesn't matter if you're already a communist or not. you will be by the end of the book. it's extremely educational and eye-opening in sub-200 pages, and if there was only one book i could read for the rest of my life, it's this one. it's incredible but also frightening that
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21 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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David Fuentes Sánchez
5.0 out of 5 stars Increíble
Reviewed in Spain on January 26, 2024
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El libro me ha encantando, pero claro, según tus gustos. Tiene un punto de vista MUY izquierdista y anti-americano que yo comparto. Recomendable
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JAFJ
5.0 out of 5 stars Like pouring flour over lasers.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2024
Verified Purchase
When you read it, things you should of picked up on as a thinker become so clear, this is well investigated and he was right about the fact that capitalism was most egalitarian when it was under threat of socialism
One person found this helpful
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Paul Cleenewerck
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb concise analysis of a situation that is more current than ever
Reviewed in France on November 19, 2021
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Michael Parenti draws a perfect parallel between those who hired blackshirts to repress reds in the past and those supporting anti eco activists today. He also debunks a lot of myths created against former communists regimes, while acknowledging the realities of their inefficiency though maintaining the fact that real, modernised Marxists theories have never truly been applied and remain an historical.
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Srecko Vojvodic
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and precious
Reviewed in Canada on December 25, 2012
Verified Purchase
For thinkers, and especially actors of the class struggle this is an essential reading. It is beautifully written and contains a lot of precious data and thoughts. The downside of the reading is the language used: the book is written for the US readership and hence its language is, to a high degree, conventional for this audience: socialist countries are called communist nations, bourgeois social sciences are called conventional social sciences, imperialist blocks are called West, etc. Anyway, very high value of the text exceeds, by far, occasional inconveniences of the reading.
10 people found this helpful
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Spencer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff
Reviewed in Canada on March 6, 2021
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Good stuff
One person found this helpful
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