America Last

Heilbrunn's book examines the American right wing's fascination with dictators throughout the twentieth century and up through the present day. The book reads like an accretion of anecdotes and stories -- all of which are interesting in their own right, but I did not get a sense of historical development or change. Rather, this appears to be one thing after another. Nevertheless, the evidence that Heilbrunn has amassed leaves no doubt that there is a significant right wing obscession with/appreciation for dictatorship, with Savimbi, Pinochet, Franco, Orban, Hitler and others all receiving praise from prominent Americans. A profoundly disturbing catalog of people's willingness to abandon democratic principles and values when tempted by the appearance of strength abroad.

DNF

An ok but mostly familiar account of fascist tendencies, and more specifically, the America First theory, that have run through U.S. history from the First World War up through today. The rise of isolationist thought, eugenic theory, and antisemitism, especially among elites, wends its political and cultural way from WWI through WWII and the McCarthy era right up until today. Shocking, as always, are the many, many high profile Holocaust deniers along the way. The need for far right types to manufacture facts in justification of what they don't want to acknowledge is not new and the author reminds us of this over and over (and over).

There are lots of minor characters in this story and not all of them are interesting. For me the most salient parts of the book were those that discussed well known political figures like McCarthy, Bill Buckley, and Trump, but I knew a lot of that already. Nevertheless, the book was a reminder of the need for everyone living in democratic societies of the need to be always vigilant.