United They Hate

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-- An overview that gives current information, background, and the changes that have taken place in these organizations over the years. Focusing largely on the Ku Klux Klan, it also includes information on neo-Nazis, the Order, the Posse Comitatus, the Aryan Nations, the Skinheads, and several other lesser-known groups. Giving the basic tenets of each, Kronenwetter delineates some of the leaders and the activities in which the groups engage. He delves into why people join such hate groups and how the organizations tend to cloak themselves in respectability to gain political control. The formation of police hate-crime divisions and civil suits, as well as media exposure, are described as methods of combatting their efforts. This straightforward presentation does not sensationalize the groups' activities but gives a factual recounting of the way in which they have invaded American society. For an older audience than Susan Lang's Extremist Groups in America (Watts, 1990), it is also narrower in scope since it does not cover groups on the extreme left. The current bibliography and footnotes include information from television talk show appearances by members of the groups. Useful for reports and an excellent addition to a unit on all aspects of multiculturalism. --Kathryn Havris, Mesa Public Library, AZ