mathiaschristopher

This timely book is almost guaranteed to make the reader angry. If you’re one of the bad guys, the efforts of anti-fascist groups to unmask and expose the neo-Nazis and white nationalists will infuriate you. If you’re on of the good side, the recounting of the fascist violence, the propaganda, the far-right wresting control of the narrative and manufacturing wild stories painting antifa as highly organized and violent, convincing the right-wing of such… convincing Republican show more politicians who are more than eager to embrace the lie both as a focus point against “liberals” and to bait and switch from their complicity and their own fascist violence… well, be prepared to be angry again. Especially as the current Republican administration manipulates media and has weaponized the Justice Department against anti-fascists and anti-racists.

The people of antifa have largely worked behind the scenes to identify ... and dox... the racists and neo-Nazis who have surged since DJT called them "fine people", legitimizing the racists and xenomisics, and demonizing the anti-fascists and anti-racists as a rallying point for the MAGA crowd, spreading the lies of an "alt-right troll" Microchip who petitioned the first T administration to label them as a domestic terror group

"... 'This was a test,' Microchip said[to Politico in 2017], to see whether an even more massive social media campaign could drive media attention and deflect criticism of the alt-right toward liberal hooligans. 'You can call it an extreme form of 'whataboutism,' he explained."

This book, in three parts, begins with the story of an anti-fascist who infiltrated the extreme white supremacist/neo-fascist group Patriot Front, moves on to the extent to which anti-fascists go to positively identify... and expose neo-Nazi/white supremacists (They take extreme care on that positive identification. "Misidentifying someone as a neo-Nazi or a white supremacist is not only a genuinely shitty thing to do to a person but threatens undermining the whole enterprise"), and finishes with "outside agitors". Mr. Mathias says, "The 'outside agitator' trope has always been a white counterrevolutionary project to both distract from the grievances at the heart of movements for Black liberation, and to paint those movements as artificial, the work of conniving, clandestine provocateurs.")

Mr. Mathias says, "It feels urgent to tell American antifa's story because in so many ways: antifa was right." And,
"To responsibly cover fascists requires you to recognize that they have two primary obsessions: normalizing their genocidal and authoritarian ideas and committing acts of violence against all perceived enemies. Fascists care first and foremost about controlling the narrative about what they do. Back in the day it might have been, 'Oh no, we're not white nationalists, we're identitarians! Oh no, we're not identitarians, we're alt-right! Oh no, we're not alt-right, we're dissident Right!' Every time you let them change their label, you allow them to weasel further into a broader milieu of the political right.
Every time you let them change their label, you enable them to recruit from larger audiences who may have previously only flirted with the milder forms of these hateful ideas. ... Every time you fail to clearly say that fascists showed up to an event with the intention to hurt people, and subsequently tried to hurt people, you give them cover to enact even worse violence in the future."

Extensively researched, there are an incredible supporting 560 notes, Mr. Mathias covers an ugly reality in a book that needs to be read, and won't be by the people who really need to read it. Michael Shermer concluded in his book Why People Believe Weird Things is because they want to. He could draw the same conclusion to "Why People Support Fascism and Racism".

I received a review copy of this from the publisher through NetGalley. show less

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me this book to review.

Really interesting and very timely. This book explores anti-fascist movements and actions in the US, particularly in the post-2016 election era. Specifically, Mathias is telling the story of anti-fascist who have infiltrated fascist/white supremacist/far-right militia groups and exposed, or "doxxed", the members of those groups. This was clearly very carefully researched and it is obvious that Matias has been covering show more these groups for a very long time. The stories of the particular infiltration were very interesting and well explained. I was tangentially aware of some of these groups and their online activity but this book explores more about all that went into revealing information on these groups.

At the end, the author tries to frame some things in a hopeful manner, but I am not that optimistic. I more agree with the person in the book who thinks doxxing of this type has or will become less effective as these groups gain support in the highest levels of government. Of course, people are still opposed to white supremacy and we can see that in the protests in Minnesota, as an example, but I do not think the social stigma against these groups is very strong at the moment, unfortunately. show less

Two sides -- fascism and antifa – are highlighted in this book.

Christopher Mathias provides readers with a backdoor examination of white supremacist organizations and neo-Nazi activists in the US. He also reports how anti-fascists have been diligently working to identify those involved from various sources and to stop the violence.

This book touches on brutal parts of our past with the three phases of Ku Klux Klan from 1865 to 1944. Readers are brought up to date with protests and violence show more with hate crimes towards Blacks, Jews, Muslims, Latinos and immigrants in clubs, churches, synagogues and on the streets. It includes the rally in Charlottesville in 2017 along with various other atrocities.

Then there’s the suspense from a spy who for years worked to unmask some of the identities of neo-Nazis. Does he get caught? It’s a chase that involves highly guarded secrets.

It’s well written by a journalist who did an intense amount of research. We think we know everything until we read a book like this. It’s packed with history and it brings us to the current times with the fears, dangers and unknowns of where it’s going. The book has a perfect ending.

My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book with a release date of February 3, 2026. The opinions that I have shared are my own. show less