Willis Carto and the American Far Right

by George Michael

"An important book that casts much needed light on one of the most significant and previously elusive figures of the contemporary American far right. It will be of great interest to historians, political scientists, and sociologists alike."--Darren Mulloy,Wilfrid Laurier University "A wide-ranging and well-informed study of a major figure on the American far right."--Martin Durham, University of Wolverhampton Willis Carto (b. 1926) is arguably the most important radical conservative in postwar America. Best known as the founder of the infamous Liberty Lobby, he has shaped the far right's position on such issues as immigration, globalization, multiculturalism, Holocaust denial, and the conflict in the Middle East. Granted remarkable personal access to the notoriously reclusive Carto, George Michael has written a fascinating biography. Throughout his long political career, Carto has sought to unite the various movements that make up the far right. Toward that end, he has reached out to individuals from both the fringe and the mainstream. Michael provides an account of the various publishing and organizational ventures in which Carto has been involved, including the Institute for Historical Review, The Spotlight, Youth for Wallace, the Populist Party, American Free Press, andthe political career of David Duke. The result is a captivating portrait of this dedicated, frightening, and controversial man.

Genres: History

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 23, 2008

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Grump · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

Willis Carto tried to unite the American far-right into one cohesive front. It didn't really work out because the scene is too splintered. Too many conflicting conspiracy theories, too many different minorities to blame and up until the publication of this book, enough Americans were comfortable in the way things are. Dude definitely crossed paths with despicable people and had shitty nazi POVs but in the end he stirred about as much idiot shit as Alex Jones.

[Andrew Attaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Willis Carto has been the shadowy figure behind the antisemitic American right since the immediate post-WWII period. The book is woodenly written, and too much space is taken up paraphrasing articles from Carto's newspaper. And the author seems a little more open to Carto's views than I'm comfortable with. But then again there's no other full-length treatment of Carto. Check out Leonard Zeskind's Blood and Politics. for more on Carto (and a better read).

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent profile of an important and creepy figure..it shows
that U.S. neo-fascism is somewhat different from the European
species....