Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America - Paperback

by Kathleen Belew (Author)A Guardian Best Book of the Year The white power movement in America wants a revolution. “A gripping study of white power…It is impossible to read the book without recalling more recent events…The book’s explosive thesis: that the white power movement ...emerged as a radical reaction to the [Vietnam] war…It is a breathtaking argument, one that treats foreign policy as the impetus for a movement that most people view through the lens of domestic racism…It’s a stunning indictment of official culpability, and Belew constructs her case with forensic care. In doing so, she shows that, while racism is ever with us, policy choices ranging from local police strategies to the furthest reaches of foreign policy create the space for white power to flourish." - New York Times “Fascinating…Belew connects seemingly disparate events like the killings at Greensboro, the persecution of Vietnamese fishers in Texas in the early 1980s, and the siege at Ruby Ridge. She shows how hatred of the federal government, fears of communism, and racism all combined in white-power ideology and explains why our responses to the movement have long been woefully inadequate.” - Slate "Helps explain how we got to today's alt-right." - Terry Gross, Fresh Air “An essential reference book for our times.”- Rachel Maddow, Rachel Maddow Show Returning to a country ripped apart by a war they felt they were not allowed to win, a small group of Vietnam veterans and disgruntled civilians who shared their virulent anti-communism and potent sense of betrayal concluded that waging war on their own country was justified. The command structure of their covert movement gave women a prominent place. They operated with discipline, made tragic headlines in Waco, Ruby Ridge, and Oklahoma City, and are resurgent under President Trump. Based on a decade of deep immersion in previously classified FBI files and on extensive interviews, Bring the War Home tells the story of American paramilitarism and the birth of the alt-right. About the Author KATHLEEN BELEW is Associate Professor of History at Northwestern University and has appeared on Fresh Air, Weekend Edition, and CBS News. Her work featured prominently in the PBS Frontline documentary “Documenting Hate: New American Nazis.” She spent 10 years researching and writing Bring the War Home, examining previously classified FBI files and vivid personal testimonies and letters.