God, Guts, and Guns: A Close Look At the Radical Right
By Phillip Finch The right wing of the American political scene includes a vast number of small radical groups. Radical is defined herein as those groups which are racist; this book could just as well be titled A Close Look at the Racist Right. Finch covers a diverse group of radical groups; he chooses to cover the largest ones, the most influential ones, and a few smaller ones he sees as typical. Finch discusses why these groups exist, who belongs to them, why they feud, and who they are. Each chapter discusses an aspect of the Racist Right- the anti-tax movement, for example, and then has a section titled "witnessing" giving examples of right-wing sentiment backing him up, in this case an account by Ron Boggs who was convicted of failure to file an income-tax return.
Phillip Finch remains objective and does not cover his own political views, although he does seem confused as to the motives of many on the right: he is not a member. He does disprove some of the more credible claims of the extreme right, and credits what sense he sees in it. This book was published in 1983 and discusses right-wing extremists from 1960 until about 1981. Therefore it should be read as a history.
Happy reading.
