United They Hate: White Supremacist Groups in America

Grade 8 Up-- An overview that gives current information, background, and the changes that have taken place in these organizations over the years. Focusing largely on the Ku Klux Klan, it also includes information on neo-Nazis, the Order, the Posse Comitatus, the Aryan Nations, the Skinheads, and several other lesser-known groups. Giving the basic tenets of each, Kronenwetter delineates some of the leaders and the activities in which the groups engage. He delves into why people join such hate groups and how the organizations tend to cloak themselves in respectability to gain political control. The formation of police hate-crime divisions and civil suits, as well as media exposure, are described as methods of combatting their efforts. This straightforward presentation does not sensationalize the groups' activities but gives a factual recounting of the way in which they have invaded American society. For an older audience than Susan Lang's Extremist Groups in America (Watts, 1990), it is also narrower in scope since it does not cover groups on the extreme left. The current bibliography and footnotes include information from television talk show appearances by members of the groups. Useful for reports and an excellent addition to a unit on all aspects of multiculturalism. --Kathryn Havris, Mesa Public Library, AZ
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In simple, compelling language, an effective portrayal of the recent resurgence of white supremacist groups as a small but dangerous threat to democratic values. In a model of spirited prose and well-researched documentation, the author outlines the history of organized racial hatred since the founding of the US. He describes some of the best-known groups, analyzes how and why people join them, documents some of their interconnections and forays into legitimate politics (e.g., David Duke's), and explains how opponents have weakened them. Among the more interesting stories are how William Simmons revived the Klan in 1915 as an insurance-selling enterprise, and how certain churches turn Christianity on its head to justify their anti-Semitism. (One minor error: Order leader Mathews was killed on an island north of Seattle, not near Portland, Oregon.) Well-chosen b&w photos; endnotes; bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.