Book Review: The Eliminationists
The Eliminationists - How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right by David Neiwert
The author of this book, David Neiwert, is a well-respected blogger, who blogs at Orcinus. In my opinion, he is one of the best writers in the blogsphere. His blogposts are well written and well researched, building on top of his great knowledge of the topics he blog about. On top of that, he is one of the few genuine experts in the blogsphere - he is your go-to man, if you want to know something about the far-right movement(s) in the US; a subject he has written books about in the past.
His newest book also relates to the far-right movement(s), and this time he focuses on how pundits, especially talk radio hosts, transmits extremist ideas into the mainstream conservative movement, by either transmitting these ideas as facts, or by allowing right-winged extremist access to their microphones, presenting them as mainstream voices and/or experts on the subject being discussed.
If you've read Neiwert's blog, Orcinus, you'll recognize the theme, and in many ways, the book can be considered a collection of his blogposts on the subject, distilled down to the core ideas and concepts, and fleshed out a bit.
To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by the book, since it was neither as scholarly nor as journalistic as I had expected, based upon his earlier books. This time Neiwert's own opinions come to the fore much more, though still backed up with research and references. Even so, I would still consider this an important book, showing both how extremist ideas can spread and become mainstream, and how there are some real worrisome tendencies towards fascism among these extremists and their broadcasters.
This should not be misunderstood to mean that Neiwert thinks that the conservative movement is fascists, but he thinks the tendencies towards fascism are there, and he explains why he reaches this conclusion.
If you live in the US, or are interested in US politics, I recommend this book. It's not pleasant reading, but it's important, and even if you end up disagreeing with Neiwert's conclusions, you will have some things to think about.
The author of this book, David Neiwert, is a well-respected blogger, who blogs at Orcinus. In my opinion, he is one of the best writers in the blogsphere. His blogposts are well written and well researched, building on top of his great knowledge of the topics he blog about. On top of that, he is one of the few genuine experts in the blogsphere - he is your go-to man, if you want to know something about the far-right movement(s) in the US; a subject he has written books about in the past.
His newest book also relates to the far-right movement(s), and this time he focuses on how pundits, especially talk radio hosts, transmits extremist ideas into the mainstream conservative movement, by either transmitting these ideas as facts, or by allowing right-winged extremist access to their microphones, presenting them as mainstream voices and/or experts on the subject being discussed.
If you've read Neiwert's blog, Orcinus, you'll recognize the theme, and in many ways, the book can be considered a collection of his blogposts on the subject, distilled down to the core ideas and concepts, and fleshed out a bit.
To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by the book, since it was neither as scholarly nor as journalistic as I had expected, based upon his earlier books. This time Neiwert's own opinions come to the fore much more, though still backed up with research and references. Even so, I would still consider this an important book, showing both how extremist ideas can spread and become mainstream, and how there are some real worrisome tendencies towards fascism among these extremists and their broadcasters.
This should not be misunderstood to mean that Neiwert thinks that the conservative movement is fascists, but he thinks the tendencies towards fascism are there, and he explains why he reaches this conclusion.
If you live in the US, or are interested in US politics, I recommend this book. It's not pleasant reading, but it's important, and even if you end up disagreeing with Neiwert's conclusions, you will have some things to think about.
Labels: book review, conservatives, David Neiwert, US politics
posted by Kristjan Wager at 5:53 PM
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