If you’re at all alarmed with what you see, here’s a roundup of reviews that touch on fascism, hatred, white supremacy, and antisemitism. We’re in the thick of it, yeah? Keep your eyes and ears open. Arm yourself with knowledge, context, and humor. Resist with everything you’ve got.
I posted my review of Hatemonger in September 2020. Five years later and Stephen Miller is deputy chief of staff and still the “architect” of President Trump’s immigration policy. Anyone else get bad chills when you see the word ‘architect’ used to describe someone like Stephen Miller?
Stephen Miller is one of the last original Trump staff still standing. Think about that. After all the resignations and firings and comings and goings, he’s still there. Who does that? What kind of person survives the Trump administration?
My reaction to the insurrection posted on 1/8/2021. A mess of emotions.
I bought a cool old book recently. Or so I thought. Printed in 1944, A Treasury of American Folklore, with a Foreword by Carl Sandberg, promised old yarns and tales of early America.
One of my best nonfiction reads of 2021, this 2018 Eli Saslow book tells the story of the transformation of Derek Black, son of the founder of Stormfront. Interesting that Black attended New College in Sarasota, Florida, and experienced his awakening there. Formerly one of the nation’s most liberal schools, it’s been transformed as well and is liberal no more.
As the subtitle says, Derek has an awakening and eventually renounces his past beliefs. It’s not really a happy ending, though. He and his father helped build a nationwide network of like-minded bigots and racists. The last five years have seen a rise in the legitimacy of these groups.
Provocative title for well-argued examples of how the world seems to prefer their Jews… Posted in January 2022.
Horn’s voice throughout her book is engaging, deadpan, almost comic. Darkly comic. She is wry and resigned to the fact that if things are going well for the Jews, the story is going to eventually end badly.
I read this incredible novel twice. Posted in November 2022.
As I read The Unfolding I kept thinking, astonished, is Homes psychic? Seriously. Other writers have seen what’s coming, where America is heading, but no one has delivered it quite like this. The novel is eerie at times, very ‘ripped from the headlines.’
Written for young adults but don’t let that deter you from reading this chilling tale of vengeance and justice. Posted March 2024
The flight from Argentina to Israel is one of the more harrowing parts of this book… The crew and team definitely felt the tension of being in the same space as the Nazi – sedated and strapped to his seat – all while trying to get to their destination without running out of fuel or being caught in the act. If they ever turn this book into a movie this is the scene that will have the audience on the edge of their seats.
Stunning, biting, clear-eyed, and funny…if only it wasn’t so timely. There’s a reason Sinclair Lewis won both Pulitzer and Nobel prizes. I posted my review in November 2024.
It Can’t Happen Here describes an America in 1936, caught up in a wave of fascism and violence. It’s a land where nothing makes sense, where idiots gain power through brute force and fearmongering. I laughed, I cried, I was shaken to my American core. The novel is outrageous but so was storming the Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
bookthrasher 