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For those interested
in reading about anti-government and/or racist groups in America here
are a few books that will serve as a good starting point.
Levitas, Daniel. 2002. The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement
and the Radical Right. New York: Thomas Dunn Books. An impressive
look at the links between the militia movement and the radical right,
with a very good discussion of the history of the militia movement.
Stern, Kenneth S. 1996. A Force Upon the Plain: The American Militia
Movement and the Politics of Hate. New York: Simon & Schuster.
An excellent analysis of those militia groups involved in the hate
movement, among the best of the books on the list.
Ridgeway, James 1990. Blood in the Face: The Ku Klux Klan, Aryan
Nations, Nazi Skinheads, and the Rise of a New White Culture.
New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. This is a very good introduction
to the topic and it provides other sources you can read. As the title
suggests it includes a variety of hate groups and does a good job
of showing how hate groups of the 90s have expanded well beyond the
KKK. Incidentally, the author of this book is also the creator of
the documentary of the same name. The book also includes a number
of photographs.
Sargent, Lyman Tower (Ed.). 1995. Extremism in America. New
York: New York U. Press. A collection of writings produced by various
extremist groups (on both the left and right) in America. There is
no other book quite like this.
Coates, James 1987. Armed and Dangerous, the Rise of the Survivalist
Right. New York: Hill & Wang. This is also an excellent overview
book that includes a range of groups. Because of its publication date
it does not include Skinheads, but otherwise is an excellent discussion
that has considerably more detail than Ridgeway's book listed above.
Dyer, Joel 1997. Harvest of Rage: Why Oklahoma City is Only the
Beginning. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Dyer has spent lots
of time traveling through the parts of America where extremist groups
are most active and has interviewed many people. A very good "view
from the ground" of the forces influencing these groups.
Flynn, Kevin and Gary Gerhardt 1989. The Silent Brotherhood: Inside
America's Racist Underground. New York: Free Press. This excellent
book focuses on one supremacist group, The Order. The group was connected
to the assassination of radio talk-show host Alan Berg, armored car
robberies, counterfeiting, and a host of other crimes.
Corcoran, James 1990. Bitter Harvest: Gordon Kahl and the Posse
Comitatus: Murder in the Heartland. New York: Viking Press. Another
very good book. As the title implies, this book is the story of Gordon
Kahl, who died in a shootout with federal authorities, after having
killed two federal marshals and wounding three others. As an aside,
the book was also turned into a very good made-for-TV movie.
Colvin, Rod 1992. Evil Harvest: The Shocking True Story of Cult
Murders in the American Heartland. New York: Bantam Books. This
is easily the most disgusting of the available cases. This story is
a good illustration of how teachings of the new right can be adopted
by the lunatic fringe -- to a disastrous conclusion. This is not a
good overview of hate groups in general, as it focuses on one extreme
case. It is also not for those with weak stomachs.
Hamm, Mark 1993. American Skinheads: The Criminology and Control
of Hate Crime. Westport, CT: Praeger. This is the only book
in the listing to focus exclusively on the Skinhead movement in America.
It is the product of the author's field research and provides excellent
insights into this relatively new form of the radical right in America.
Hamm, Mark (Editor). 1994. Hate Crime: International Perspectives
on Causes and Control. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson. This book
is an excellent collection of essays about the rise and the scope
of hate groups around the world, with each chapter focusing on a different
country.
Zellner, William W. 1995. Counter Cultures: A Sociological Analysis.
New York: St. Martin's Press. This book is an excellent overview
of unusual groups, several which fit into the category of hate groups.
Among the groups covered are: skinheads, Satanism, Ku Klux Klan, and
survivalists.
Barkun, Michael 1994. Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins
of the Christian Identity Movement. Chapel Hill: The University
of North Carolina Press. Less colorfully written than journalistic
accounts, this is an important scholarly examination of the rise and
spread of the Christian Identity movement and is very helpful in making
clear the role of this particular brand of Christianity in modern
hate movements.
Dees, Morris 1996. Gathering Storm: America's Militia Threat.
New York: Harper-Collins. A good book but light reading compared
with some of the others. Good for a quick overview of the issues.
Lamy, Philip 1996. Millenium Rage: Survivalists, White Supremacists,
and the Doomsday Prophesy. New York: Plenum Press. An interesting
discussion of the religious underpinnings of the hate movement. A
good overview of these issues. This book contains a great deal of
interesting detail and is based on existing literature and on the
author's own investigation into these far right groups.
Hamilton, Neil A. 1996. Militias in America: A Reference Handbook.
Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. As the title implies this is a handbook
that provides a great deal of information, including short bibliographies
of militia leaders and a chronology of the militia movement. A good
source after your have been introduced to the topic.
Stock, Catherine McNichol 1996. Rural Radicals: Righteous Rage
in the American Grain. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Highly
acclaimed book showing how elements of today's radical right have
existed for a long time in America. The author traces the roots of
todays militia groups back to even before the American Revolution.
This books makes it easier to see how today's radicals are a reflection
of our society.
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