The Political Science Shelf

The Age of Insurrection
David Neiwert
Melville House
46 John Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
https://www.mhpbooks.com
9781685890360, $39.99, HC, 544pp

https://www.amazon.com/Age-Insurrection-Radical-American-Democracy/dp/16858= 90369

Synopsis: From a smattering of ominous right-wing compounds in the Pacific = Northwest in the 1970s, to the shocking January 6, 2021 insurrection at the=
U.S. Capitol, America has seen the culmination of a long-building war on d= emocracy being waged by a fundamentally violent and antidemocratic far-righ=
t movement that unironically calls itself the "Patriot" movement.

So how did we get here?

With the publication of "The Age of Insurrection: The Radical Right's Assau=
lt on American Democracy", award-winning journalist David Neiwert (who been=
following the rise of these extremist groups since the late 1970s, when he=
was a young reporter in Idaho) explores how the movement was built over de= cades, how it was set aflame by Donald Trump and his cohorts, and how it wi=
ll continue to attack American democracy for the foreseeable future.

Neiwert especially studies how the Pacific Northwest has long been a breedi=
ng ground of extremist violence, from the time when neo-nazis migrated to t=
he area from southern California in the 1970s, through the great battles in=
Portland and Seattle and neighboring towns over the last decade.

Laying out how these groups organize their terroristic violence and attacks=
on democratic institutions at every level (including local, state, and fed= eral targets) Neiwert details what their strategies and plans look like for=
the foreseeable future.

Critique: A timely and invaluable contribution to our currently on-going na= tional discussions on the rise of an American fascism that is currently ide= ntified by governmental authorities in the FBI and other security agencies =
to be the greatest current threat to American democracy and our political v= oting systems, "The Age of Insurrection: The Radical Right's Assault on Ame= rican Democracy" is a compelling (and chilling) read. While also available =
in a digital book format (Kindle, $17.99) for students, academia, governmen=
t officials and legislators, political activists, and non-specialist genera=
l readers with an interest in the subject that "The Age of Insurrection: Th=
e Radical Right's Assault on American Democracy" is a vitally important and=
unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, co= llege, and university library White Nationalism Christian Nationalism, Fasc= ism, and Domestic Terrorism collections and supplemental Contemporary Polit= ical Science curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: David Neiwert (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Neiwert)=
is an award-winning investigative journalist and the author of several boo= ks, including Red Pill, Blue Pill: How to Counteract the Conspiracy Theorie=
s that are Killing Us (Prometheus 2020), Alt-America: The Rise of the Radic=
al Right in the Age of Trump (Verso 2017), Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Wh= ales Can Teach Us (Overlook 2016), and And Hell Followed With Her: Crossing=
the Dark Side of the American Border (Nation Books 2013).

Class War: A Literary History
Mark Steven
Verso
20 Jay Street, 10th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201-8346
www.versobooks.com
9781839760693, $29.95, PB, 304pp

https://www.amazon.com/Class-War-Literary-Mark-Steven/dp/1839760699

Synopsis: In political science, the term class conflict (also class struggl=
e, class warfare, capital-labour conflict) identifies the political tension=
and economic antagonism that exist among the social classes of society, be= cause of socioeconomic competition for resources among the social classes, = between the rich and the poor. In the political and economic philosophies o=
f Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin, class struggle is a central tenet and a pr= actical means for effecting radical sociopolitical changes for the social m= ajority, the working class. (Wikipedia)

A thrilling and vivid work of history, with the publication of "Class War",=
Mark Steven deftly weaves together literature and politics to chart the ma= king and unmaking of social class through revolutionary combat. In a narrat= ive that spans the globe and more than two centuries of history, Steven abl=
y traces the history of class war from the Haitian Revolution to Black Live=
s Matter movement.

Surveying the literature of revolution, from the poetry of Shelley and Byro=
n to the novels of Emile Zola and Jack London, exploring the writings of Fr= antz Fanon, Che Guevara, and Assata Shakur, "Class War" reveals the interpl=
ay between military action and the politics of class, showing how solidarit=
y flourishes in times of conflict.

Written with verve and ranging across diverse historical settings, "Class W= ar" traverses industrial battles, guerrilla insurgencies, and anti-colonial=
resistance, as well as large-scale combat operations waged against capital= ism's regimes and its interstate system.

In our age of economic crisis, ecological catastrophe, and planetary unrest=
, "Class War" tells the stories of those whose actions will help guide futu=
re militants toward a revolutionary horizon.

Critique: "Class War" is a seminal, iconoclastic, and ground-breaking liter= ary history of global class war. This new study by Mark Steven is an inhere= ntly fascinating, informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking study that =
is informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of an Introduct= ion (Class War Now), a Postscript (No War But Class War), twenty-six pages =
of Notes, and a fifteen page Index. While also available for personal readi=
ng lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $7.99), "Class War" is an especi= ally and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and unive= rsity library Political Science & History collections, and supplemental Soc= ial Theory/Social Class curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Mark Steven (https://english.exeter.ac.uk/staff/steven) is = Senior Lecturer in Twentieth- and Twenty-first Century Literature at the Un= iversity of Exeter, UK. He is the author of Red Modernism: American Poetry = and the Spirit of Communism (2017) and Splatter Capital (2017).

Neutering the CIA
John A. Gentry
Armin Lear Press Inc.
www.arminlear.com
9781956450699, $35.95 Hardcover, $24.95 Paper, $9.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Neutering-CIA-Intelligence-Long-Term-Consequences/dp= /1956450696

Neutering the CIA: Why US Intelligence Versus Trump Has Long-Term Consequen= ces is a scholarly analysis that holds the rare ability to attract general-= interest readers concerned about intelligence history and America's CIA in = particular. It probes the political bias that both dictates operations and = too often undermines the agency, considering how this bias affects intellig= ence operations and efficiency as a whole.

While the key example presented in this study is the impact of such bias on=
the interaction between the CIA and the Trump Administration, to consider = Neutering the CIA a history of Trump's involvement alone would be to do the=
book an injustice. It holds far wider-ranging realizations and information=
that affect the overall operations, driving force, and perceptions of CIA = and intelligence operations as a whole. Neutering the CIA ideally should be=
consulted not just by political science students, but anyone actively invo= lved in U.S. intelligence operations and ideals.

John A. Gentry opens his treatise with a preface that explains his backgrou=
nd in the CIA as an intelligence analyst and his personal experience of its=
"politicization" by fellow professionals who overlaid the operations of th=
e agency with an agenda that represented their personal and political senti= ments. From the start, his revelations are eye-opening and controversial: "= After following the German Democratic Republic for several years, I was und=
er no illusions about the many negative and few good aspects of the country=
's communist regime ... Yet in 1986 my division chief, Steve K., began to i= nsist that his analysts make the countries we followed look worse than they=
were, mainly by adding pejorative adjectives in our analytic papers."

This misdirection of information, framed by simple choices in presentation = and representation, was mild; but in hindsight it began a dangerous trend t= hat continues to this day. Thankfully, this experience also led to Gentry's=
newfound awareness of and ongoing interest in the intersection of politics=
and intelligence work -- and he was in the perfect place and position to o= bserve these changes in action.

Scholarly readers will appreciate Gentry's attention to detail as he delves=
into such varied topics as diversity politics, other presidential campaign=
s that reflected the growth of special influences and interests, and the ch= anging approaches of the intelligence community as politicization became a = new norm rather than the exception. His attention to exploring moral and et= hical dilemmas, his expose of facts (such as the leaking of intelligence in= formation by intelligence officers themselves), and his heavily footnoted r= eferences that support many of his contentions with articles, interviews, a=
nd research create an authority that goes beyond personal familiarity to re= flect the information-based work Gentry was trained to produce.

Having Neutering the CIA at this point in time is key to understanding the = influences upon and progress of democracy itself. Far more than an analysis=
of the inner sanctum of the American intelligence community, Neutering the=
CIA draws both damning and thought-provoking connections between special i= nterests, personal ambition, and political influence that dictates the focu=
s and direction of intelligence operations in this nation.

Gentry's discussions of anti- and pro-Trump elements within the organizatio=
n and his notes on the CIA's evolving culture and strengths invite classroo=
m dialogue and discussion that also should spill into general interest circ= les despite the scholarly nature of this book, which should not be limited =
to classroom study alone. General-interest as well as scholarly or college-= level library collections should see widespread attraction to Neutering the=
CIA because its history, analysis, and insider information hold great impa=
ct for revising perceptions of the democratic process in America as well as=
its evolving intelligence community.

Suitable for book club discussion, political and social issues debates, and=
classroom reading alike, Neutering the CIA is an important examination of = linguistics, ideology, and purpose of intelligence operations. It holds the=
ability to reach a wide audience with its insights on how modern America r= eally works, both up front and behind the scenes, and is very highly recomm= ended for its special in-depth examination.

Hollow Gods
Davidson Loehr
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9781639888221, $25.99 Hardcover, $17.95 Paper

https://www.amazon.com/Hollow-Gods-Davidson-Loehr/dp/1639888225

Hollow Gods: Why Liberalism Became a Destructive Religion is especially app= ropriate reading for modern times because it embraces the ideas and sentime= nts connecting religion to political choices - and also because it comes fr=
om a liberal forced to reconsider his faith and political connections.

This is not a condemnation of liberals or religion, but operates in the mil= ieu intersecting belief systems that considers the long-time presence of tw=
o cultures whose clashes have resulted in a form of arrogance. This has unw= ittingly created the very monsters and messages liberals accuse others of f= ostering. Every reader who considers himself liberal should digest these co= ntentions, which are presented with footnoted references reinforcing statis= tics and contentions throughout.

The treatise closely analyzes the liberal platform "...that I and millions =
of others have had, and the serious, devastating, possibly permanent harm t= hey have done and are doing to individuals, two generations of college stud= ents, our country, its politics, liberal religion, racism, sexism..." Exten= sive footnotes aside, this survey is not written like an academic paper, bu=
t is lively enough that general-interest audiences can easily access its co= ntentions and, hopefully, debate and consider them in group and book club r= eading circles.

From how views are represented by the media, distorted, and manipulated to = the left-wing bias of the media as a whole and its impact on divisions and = freedom, chapters offer thought-provoking blends of historical, philosophic= al, and political reflection that should particularly interest media studie=
s and social issues students.

Hollow Gods will make readers uncomfortable -- especially liberal readers w=
ho have long held their contentions close to their hearts (often, so close = that they have remained immune to deep inspection).

Libraries and readers that choose Hollow Gods for its hard-hitting examinat= ion of belief systems, social activism, media involvements, and clashing cu= ltures will find its words embrace difficult subjects and truths, thus broa= dening the opportunity for revision and revelation: "Affirmative action doe= sn't address or solve any of these problems. It is done to treat black peop=
le like our token victims, letting liberals feel virtuous for speaking up f=
or them -- while doing virtually nothing to help them. These liberal ideas = aren't just stupid. They're also destructive and ungrounded. They're good e= xamples of why these un-realistic Second Culture misunderstandings, like th=
e Scare-crow's Delusion, do so much harm, and why the gatekeepers must come=
from people in the First Culture who, like Antaeus, have their feet on the=
ground in the real world.

The problem isn't limited to liberals. The problem is that, for the reasons=
already shown, we have mostly lost the ability to center ourselves or our = culture around healthy ontological values and have degraded ourselves and o=
ur world into merely ideological squawkers."

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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(dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

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