Arthur Goldwag is the author of "Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies" and "'Isms & 'Ologies." A freelance writer and editor for more than thirty years, he has worked at Book-of-the-Month Club, Random House, and "The New York Review of Books." He lives in New York City.
"An informative and lively history of organized hate groups and
their role in U.S. politics . . . A witty narrator, Goldwag
combines his research with contemporary analysis to explain what
conspiracy theories all have in common and to show how the new hate
is the same as the old, though it's now 'hiding in plain sight' . .
. Exhaustively well researched and passionately written . . .
Whether he's analyzing the origins of Glenn Beck's ideology or
demystifying the Illuminati, Goldwag excels at showing how the
obsessions of the past connect with those of the present."
--"Publishers Weekly
"
"A well-reported study of disaffected groups who hate other groups
whose members look or think differently than the haters . . .
Goldwag terms the phenomenon "the paranoid style of hatred," and
shows how that style has been linked to conspiracy theories for
hundreds of years. The author examines with special depth hatreds
against Jews, Catholics, Freemasons, African-Americans and the
extremely wealthy. With the election of President Obama, the haters
coalesced against what they saw as an obvious enemy. Goldwag is
able to effectively use the hatreds toward Obama to illustrate the
irrationality of the haters . . . A provocative, intellectually
rigorous book written clearly and with an admirable lack of
hatred."
"--Kirkus" (starred review)
"Wide-ranging narrative . . . A useful primer on the nation's
'long-standing penchant for conspiratorial thinking, its
never-ending quest for scapegoats' . . . [Goldwag's] thoroughness
in exploring this subject is impressive . . . If there's any
comfort in this dispiriting account, it's that the
conspiracy-minded have (largely) been confined to the margins of
American political and cultural life. That's small consolation,
though, when balanced against the unavoidable conclusion that the
haters will always be with us or, as Goldwag puts it, the
realization that 'the New Hate is the same as the Old Hate--only
now it's hiding in pla
"One wishes that Goldwag were exaggerating, but if you spend a
little time reading the vile comments sections on right-wing
websites you will see that Goldwag has performed a valuable service
in tracing the history of the new hate to the old."
--Ron Rosenbaum, author of "Explaining Hitler" and "How the End
Begins: The Road to a Nuclear World War III"
"Goldwag provides a lucid and detailed account of the irrational
and bigoted right-wing populists and their conspiracy theories of
power in the United States. These conspiracists are like
intellectual vampires sucking the blood out of the body politic and
leaving behind a weakened democracy in a fading twilight for civil
society. Goldwag illuminates the conspiracists to reverse their
trajectory of increasing influence, which is a periodic problem for
our nation."
--Chip Berlet, co-author "Right-Wing Populism in America"
"Arthur Goldwag confronts conspiracist fantasies and paranoia with
reason and humanity--not to mention the briskness and drama of
great historical storytelling. His dissection of how the political
fringe has edged into mainstream culture deserves the attention and
admiration of everyone who is concerned about the coarsening of our
politics."
--Mitch Horowitz, author of "Occult America: The Secret History of
How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation"
"This exhumation of the deep and gnarled roots of the American
conspiratorial tradition could not be more timely. Combining a
sweeping historical eye and sharp contemporary analysis, Arthur
Goldwag explains not just why American politics in the Age of Obama
is infected by a virulent strain of right-wing conspiracism--but
why it has always been thus. From the Bavarian Illuminati of Adam
Weishaupt, to the Tea Party Idiocracy of Michelle Malkin, "The New
Hate "covers everything you need to know about the paranoid style
in American politics."
--Alex Zaitchik, author of "Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the
Triumph of Ignorance"
""Th
"Arthur Goldwag confronts conspiracist fantasies and paranoia with
reason and humanity--not to mention the briskness and drama of
great historical storytelling. His dissection of how the political
fringe has edged into mainstream culture deserves the attention and
admiration of everyone who is concerned about the coarsening of our
politics."
--Mitch Horowitz, author of "Occult America: The Secret History of
How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation"
"This exhumation of the deep and gnarled roots of the American
conspiratorial tradition could not be more timely. Combining a
sweeping historical eye and sharp contemporary analysis, Arthur
Goldwag explains not just why American politics in the Age of Obama
is infected by a virulent strain of right-wing conspiracism--but
why it has always been thus. From the Bavarian Illuminati of Adam
Weishaupt, to the Tea Party Idiocracy of Michelle Malkin, "The New
Hate "covers everything you need to know about the paranoid style
in American politics."
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