The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right

By Daniel Levitas

Book Overview

September 11, 2001, focused America's attention on the terrorist threat from abroad, but as the World Trade Center towers collapsed, domestic right-wing hate groups were celebrating in the United States. "Hallelu-Yahweh! May the WAR be started! DEATH to His enemies, may the World Trade Center BURN TO THE GROUND!" announced August Kreis of the paramilitary group, the Posse Comitatus. "We can blame no others than ourselves for our problems due to the fact that we allow ...Satan's children,called jews (sic) today, to have dominion over our lives." The Terrorist Next Door reveals the men behind far right groups like the Posse Comitatus - Latin for "power of the county" -- and the ideas that inspired their attempts to bring about a racist revolution in the United States. Timothy McVeigh was executed for killing 168 people when he bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in 1995, but The Terrorist Next Door goes well beyond the destruction in Oklahoma City and takes readers deeper and more broadly inside the Posse and other groups that comprise the paramilitary right. From the emergence of white supremacist groups following the Civil War, through the segregationist violence of the civil rights era, the right-wing tax protest movement of the 1970s, the farm crisis of the 1980s and the militia movement of the 1990s, the book details the roots of the radical right. It also tells the story of men like William Potter Gale, a retired Army officer and the founder of the Posse Comitatus whose hate-filled sermons and calls to armed insurrection have fueled generations of tax protesters, militiamen and other anti-government zealots since the 1960s. Written by Daniel Levitas, a national expert on the origins and activities of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups, The Terrorist Next Door is painstakingly researched and includes rich detail from official documents (including the FBI), private archives and confidential sources never before disclosed. In detailing these and other developments, The Terrorist Next Door will prove to be the most definitive history of the roots of the American militia movement and the rural radical right ever written.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312291051
• ISBN13: 9780312291051
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 2.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.3" x 1.8" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Interesting Albeit Slightly Boring

Daniel Levitas took a truly scholarly approach to the topic of white militia movements in America. He has sources that I've never seen cited before, and in every sense of the word primary resources. Sometimes I wonder exactly how he got them. Just joking, but more seriously, his book may provide insight rare to the topic. However, his writing can be boring at times. On the other hand, he is a nice author and will probably send you a scanned copy of his sources as he did with me upon request. Bottom line is it's worth getting, but beware it reads like a dry history book at some points.

An accurate look at some of your scary neighbors

I have already read this book, but I'm ordering my own copy now for research purposes. It is the most comprehensive, and well written book on the subject of the extreme right that I have found to date. I live in an area where I am familiar with some of the activity that Levitas describes and he is bulls-eye accurate with his facts. He also writes in a way that is objective and compelling.

A Must Read -- great for students and teachers

This totally engrossing and historically accurate book is a must read for anyone interested in American history, in terrorism and in the home-grown sources of the Militia movement. It is full of interesting stories about the people who make up the radical right, those who battle them, and the role of ideology (as well as economics) in generating and supporting our home-grown right wing terrorists. As a teacher, I would find it useful for high school and college courses and there is a wonderful time line at the end of the text (not to mention copious and fascinating footnotes)which clearly explicates the relationship between these groups and such events in the larger society as reconstruction,school desegregation, and more recently, the farm crisis and end of the cold war. It is guaranteed to give you a new perspective on American history and what you probably never learned in school.A broad canvas filled with intimate details -- not the least of which is the dramatic -- and surprising -- story of William Potter Gale -- the seminal figure in the militiamovement who became a hate-monger despite his Russian Jewish ancestry.

a vital read

Since Sept. 11th, Muslim and Arab men and women have been painted as terrorists. This book reminds us, in often disturbing detail, that the greater threat to American democracy comes within, from white 'Christian' men. At its core, this book forces us to realize that bigotry - in all its forms - is the most dangerous form of terrorism.The Terrorist Next Door provides the reader with the "who", "what", "where", and the all-important "why" of the militia movement. Where most other books on the subject gloss-over the importance of race and religion in the evolution of the militia movement, this book tackles the issue head-on. In it, Levitas proves that he is not only an amazing researcher, but a skilled analyst and writer. This is one of those refreshing books that not only provides insight and analysis but provides you with the information to back it up.It should come as no suprise that this book has been nominated for both a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize.

Home Grown Terrorists

A "must read" for anyone trying to understand how home grown terrorists evolved. An excellent and well researched book that connects the dots between the banking collapse, the financial destruction of farmers, and the militants who took advantage of desperate times to sway people to their beliefs. An indictment of politicians at their worst, who, by ignoring a large segment of the population in their time of need, helped to spawn hate groups and a complete mistrust of the government. This is not a book "thrown together" in the aftermath of "9/11". It is painstakingly documented yet written in a style that demands and keeps your attention by an author who is obviously passionate about his work. READ THIS BOOK!