Thomas Main's The Rise of the Alt-Right is a thorough examination of this movement, its origin, and its possible future. Main does something specialhe takes the time to look at the movement through data on its audience. This challenges the notion that the ideas animating this movement represents a fringe viewpoint. For those concerned about the rise of this movement and its possible future arc, Main's book is required reading.Heidi Beirich, Director, Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law CenterIn a matter of a few years the Alt-Right has gone from obscurity to well-deserved infamy. But a purely moral reaction to it is not sufficient. To combat it we also need clarity about its history, its size, and its intellectual foundations, such as they are. Thomas Main is the first to offer both a sober, empirical analysis of the Alt-Right movement and a serious engagement with its fundamental presuppositions. An indispensable map to the circle of hell in which we now find ourselves.Mark Lilla, author of The Once and Future Liberal
Main provides a detailed account of the emergence of the alt-right, an overview of its intellectual roots, and a discussion of the underlying ideas that guide the alt-right. Main argues that rather than being a social movement, constituency, or interest group, the alt-right is a political ideology, and he concludes that the "main challenges to democratic liberalism now come not from the radical left, as was the case in the latter half of the 20th century, but from the radical right." Anyone who is interested in understanding the forces at play in contemporary American politics would benefit from reading this book.CHOICE
