Publisher's Weekly Review
Wexler (The Awful Grace of God) convincingly makes the case that America has been victimized by significant domestic terrorism for over half a century, much of it inspired by Christian Identity, a theology that "identifies Jews as the spawn of the devil." He links atrocities familiar (the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995) and less so (attacks on synagogues in the South during the 1950s) to paint a disturbing picture with practical implications for the War on Terror. Most readers will be surprised by the book's contention that since 9/11, more people in the U.S. have been killed by far right extremists than by those linked or sympathetic to al-Qaeda. Wexler's deliberate and critical review of the evidence is also likely to prompt reconsideration of the possibility of wider conspiracies behind Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination and the Atlanta child murders of 1979-1981. His careful documentation of a religious-as opposed to exclusively racist-motivation for these acts of terror buttresses those, like President Obama, who refuse to recast the War on Terror as a War on Radical Islam. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Choice Review
As Americans turn to the news, they are bombarded by reports of terrorism, which further heighten national anxiety. When it comes to domestic terrorism--wanton acts of violence directed by Americans against Americans--they are likely to assume that the perpetrators come from the Islamic community. Former NBC News investigative journalist Wexler dispels those assumptions in his new study. From his reporting, Americans will become aware of the role played by J. B. Stoner, the mastermind of right-wing, religiously driven terrorism since the 1950s. Although Wexler chronicles the evolution of domestic terrorism, beginning with the origins of the Ku Klux Klan, the tangible strength of his study is his examination of the roots of the Klan's paranoiac fears and hatreds. The author's exposition of Christian identity theology, for instance, highlights the religious bond that links many of these secretive organizations into a web of actual or potential terrorist acts directed at those who appear to be a threat to their racially and religiously charged world views. Wexler's disturbing narrative is a significant contribution to terrorism studies and deserves a wide readership. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. --Christopher C. Lovett, Emporia State University
Library Journal Review
As America wages war against religious terrorism, many wish to cast it as a war against radical Islam. Wexler (coauthor, The Awful Grace of God) rejects this as oversimplified and dangerously ignorant of America's own history of domestic terrorism that is rooted in a radical form of Christian extremism. Beyond telling this story, his wider objective is to illustrate that perverting and distorting religion is by no means limited to Islamic extremists. Between 1957 and the present, numerous significant acts of domestic terror can be traced to a twisted brand of racist, anti-Semitic, apocalyptic theology known as Christian Identity. The goal of its proponents, such as lawyer J.B. Stoner and minister Wesley A. Swift, has been to provoke a holy race war inside the United States. Included among the events Wexler investigates are the 1963 Birmingham church bombing, the 1964 Mississippi Burning murders, the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. He also covers lesser-known events, such as synagogue bombings in the 1950s and several more recent "lone-wolf" terrorist acts. VERDICT Despite its considerable speculation and indirect evidence, this book is a fascinating attempt to see beyond conventional narratives and reveal an overlooked facet of religious terrorism. [The book and this review were written before the attack on the AME church in Charleston, SC.-Ed.]-Brian Sullivan, Alfred Univ. Lib., NY © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.