Hate: George Lincoln Rockwell and the American Nazi Party

Rating:
Summary: Best Biography of Rockwell
Review: I waited until Simonelli's competing book came out before making this review. Schmaltz's book is much better, bigger, more interesting, and, although Schmaltz is no Rockwell fan, more balanced.

This is relatively unbiased biography of Rockwell's fearless attempts to gain power, exploits to gain publicity, stormtroopers, lieutenants, management difficulties, assassination, and the methods his enemies used against him.

This book takes you inside the American Nazi Party HQ with details on the inside power struggles and the abject poverty in which Rockwell and his followers lived. It also provides many interesting stories of the confrontations of with the police, hostile crowds, and college audiences. Also of interest is the illegal methods the FBI used against Rockwell and the attempts of the Jewish groups to keep the news media from reporting about Rockwell.

This fascinating book is one you'll finish. Its only weak spot is that it doesn't tell why Rockwell believed what he did. Schmaltz apparently left that for Rockwell to tell in his own book "White Power," which is still available.

Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Account of a Failed Life
Review: Mr. Schmaltz's bio of American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell is a well researched, though failed examination of the life of one of America's most notorious hatemongers.

The biggest flaw in the book is Schmaltz's monotonous recounting of every demo and speech the wannabe fuhrer gave during his short, ugly life.

While there are some interesting things in the books, i.e, the role Rockwell played in the founding of the World Union of National Socialists, there are not enough to recommend the book.

This is a book that could have used a few more rewrites.

Rating:
Summary: Nazis in America
Review: Sometimes it only takes a little time for even the most hateful ideas to catch on. With enough power and money-especially money--the most heinous ideas can become "acceptable" and appear "respectable" to some. Such are the ideas of white male racial superiority and the implied right to power over all others. This includes the additional implied right to "phase out" of existence others who are held to be inferior. These ideas and their underlying rationale were the basis of Hitler's National Socialism. Though Allied Forces put an end to Hitler and his Third Reich over fifty years ago, ideas of Nazism are still very much alive. They are still wreaking pain, suffering, and death on those whom the Powerful decide are unfit to live.

Schmaltz's book is an excellent biography of Rockwell and his legacy of hate. "Hate: George Lincoln Rockwell and the American Nazi Party" is an excellent, well-researched book on Rockwell's American Nazi Party (ANP) and its legacy to Conservatives in the United States. Most importantly, Schmaltz provides us with an invaluable overview of the American Nazi Party's evolution to its present forms, the Christian Identity movement, Aryan Nations, and the Order.

Rating:
Summary: Racial Dynamics of Politics
Review: This book is about George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party during the sixties.

This book is interesting because it shows who becomes a Nazi and what characteristics they have. Rockwell was once a McCarthyite fighting communism, but after reading some information about the Jewish influences on communism became a Nazi fighting "Jewish" communism. He also was not a believer in the ability of a person to become smarter by the environment they're put in, but thought there was racial differences to intelligence due to heredity and genetics. He also could not be manipulated by sentiment easily and did not like novels such as the Grapes of Wrath that allegedly played on people's emotions rather than use reason to get its point across. Rockwell was generally insensitive to what others thought of his views no matter how unpopular; he ended up sacrificing his financial security and family to "save the white race".

Rockwell and the American Nazi Party allied themselves with the Black Muslims during the sixties who were also anti-Jewish and racial supremacists and separatists. They were for each races' self-determination without being entangled with the destiny and culture of another race. Many Jews did not support separatism though; one black leader Stokely Carmicheal complained that his organization, SNCC, no longer received money from Jewish supporters once he began preaching black pride and separatism.

The book has a lot of amusing incongruities in the book such as the strange case of Jewish Nazis that worked and even lead a branch of ANP for awhile.

The most important idea in the book was the issue of free speech and how one group usually only wants to have free speech for itself and tries to get the other opposing groups to shut up through legal maneuvers. Free speech is hard to defend; usually the police, generally hostile and indifferent to Rockwell's cause, had to protect him from ensuing riots because of his speaking his inflammatory truth as he saw it. Freedom of speech was probably more prevalent back then; Rockwell was given a lot of opportunities to speak at various colleges. There wasn't a double standard on what blacks could say and what whites could say on racial issues; there were no hate speech laws or stultifying political correctness.

Rockwell used a lot of lowbrow Vaudeville style racial humor to get his point across to the lower classes. He did not solely want to go highbrow and speak to those who practice "tea party politics". He got his Vaudeville style from his father, who was a Vaudeville comedian, and ironically, a friend to many Jewish comedians.

Many of the men who joined up with Rockwell in the early days were military types and ex-convicts. Some were eccentric intellectuals. Some were successful in the work world, many were not. There wasn't much financial or sexual reward though so many left unless they were totally committed to the cause.

A weakness to the book is that the author does not refute many of Rockwell's claims such as the Jewish influence on communism, Jewish CIA employees giving away secrets to the enemy, racial inequality in civilizational standards, predominant Jewish influence on the media, and Martin Luther King's close ties with Jewish communists. Occasionally, he will refute Rockwell by bringing up the issue of whether Rockwell was psychologically sound or not or he shows that Rockwell's evidence for holocaust denial is weak and says he created it to make Nazis politically respectable again, but in general he remains objectively silent on whatever claims Rockwell makes.

Rockwell complained that he could not institute his ideas on society or be taken seriously because people were too comfortable and complacent. He and the Nazis were waiting for an economic collapse to strike and implement their violent revolution. They sought to organize people politically on terms of race instead of class, like communists try to do. But both are not so nice; they both believe in violent revolutions. Marxists are considered a bit more respectable though for some reason and have been allowed to teach at universities.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Outstanding!
Review: This is a good book about Rockwell.It's not great. But there are some interesting things. I did not like the author's attacks on Dan Burros. Dan had a lot of Third Position views before the Green Book was even written. Albeit, it is worth the piece.

Rating:
Summary: The definitive work on Rockwell/ANP
Review: This is the best of the two books on Rockwell. Schmaltz interviewed all of ANP officers and used their jolting accounts of intra-Party activity throughout the work. He also wove in very detailed accounts of how the FBI attempted to destroy the Party with their COINTELPRO activities. This is a very compelling story and a must read for anyone wanting to understand the modern White Power/Holocaust Denial movements.

Check out the bibliography--the author secured interviews will all the players of the racist movement-Matt Koehl (New Order) DeWest Hooker, Ed Fields (Nat. States Rights Party), Emory Burke (NSRP), Colin Jordan (British Nat. Party), the entire officer corp of ANP, childhood friends, all Rockwell's college speeches.

Every library should have this book!

Rating:
Summary: Simply Outstanding!
Review: William Schmaltz has written a literary masterpiece. This book provokes one to think outside the box. It exposes the harsh realities of Mr. Rockwell's life while also exploring some of the ethically challenged ways the authorities dealt with him and his organization. This book confirms just how important the freedom of speech and assembly is to the overall freedom of our nation. An enjoyable, easy and informative read!