THE NEO-NAZIS: The Threat of the Hitler Cult

A workmanlike examination of latter-day fascism, its historical roots, and deservedly less-than-bright future. Bornstein makes clear from the start that he's totally unsympathetic to people whose ""solution to all social problems facing society today is to kill people with Jewish-sounding last names like mine."" He then looks quickly at the reasons for Hitler's rise, the unsuccessful spread of Nazism to America, Hitler apologists, and the linking of anti-Semitism with American anti-black racism. Several sections detail the leaders and groups that comprise the American Nazi movement, George Lincoln Rockwell and his American Nazi Party being the best known. Bornstein's penchant for newsclip-style reportage, especially about the groups, and a failure to update his information (he refers to the deceased Josef Mengele in the present tense, for example) make the information conveyed less than urgent. And his conclusion, that the neo-Nazi groups are composed of social misfits whose illogical rhetoric poses no threat, finally numbs by its frequent repetition. Moreover, the text assumes a greater degree of sophistication about political terms and phenomena than the target audience is likely to possess. Useful as a term-paper source only.