George Thayer

This was one of my favorite books when I first read it in junior high school in 1980. Written in 1967, it was then 13 years old. On re-reading it today (I have just purchased a used copy), it is interesting to see how much the default ideological assumptions have changed in the past 45 years. One quick example, the Socialist Party is in the section labelled "Moderate Left", while National Review is in the section labelled "Far Right". (National Review is today one of the most influential political publications out there, when the book was written it was described as being on the fringes of the political scene and of absolutely no influence in Washington, DC.)

The book is an entertaining look at the fringe political scene in the late 1960s, it has some interesting descriptions of the revolutionary left, racist organizations, black and Guamanian nationalists, and the paleo-conservative right, as well as amusing descriptions of such oddballs as the Prohibition Party, the American Vegetarian Party and the Poor Man's Party.… (plus d'informations)