Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning

This book is surprisingly well researched. It manages not to be the total screed you would expect. Read it, especially for the early 20th century history. Take the later chapters with a grain of salt.

Goldberg's prose effortlessly drives his detailed history of the American Left from its roots in Progressive ideology from the turn of the 20th century. Those who attack the conflation of American liberalism (contrasted with classical liberalism) and fascism fail to recognize two points: first, that no universally-accepted definition of fascism exists, and that fascistic tendencies can be best understood by the type of totalitarian system they generate, rather than as trapped somewhere along a neat ideological continuum.

In fact, it is exactly the Left's predilection for totalitarian solutions that causes it to most resemble fascism, Nazi genocide notwithstanding.

Goldberg delves into the history of the two most famous fascist dictators, Mussolini and Hitler, as well as tracing American fascism's roots in Woodrow Wilson, through FDR's New Deal, and into and beyond LBJ's "Great Society." Along the way he consistently debunks the myth that fascism is a movement of the Right.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the roots of modern progressive thought. While Goldberg consistently repeats that he is not equating modern American liberals to Hitler or Mussolini, liberalism cannot hide from its dark past - it must confront its roots and repudiate them, as it so frequently demands conservatism to do. This book goes a long way to leveling the ideological playing field. Read alongside David Gress' earth-shattering From Plato to Nato to understand the rise, demise, and rebirth of Classical Liberalism in the guise of the modern Conservative movement. A true tour-de-force.

Great scholarly yet popular history. Don't judge the book by the cover. Read it with an open mind and you will discover the history of the Progressives of the early 20th century.

Good cannon fodder for arguments. Well to do on insight in the "progressive" move towards authoritarian socialism.

A rare insight into the leftist mind and exposing a history liberals most conveniently ignore. Something you must read to further arm yourself against the intellectual dishonesty of the Left.

A book worth reading, but not worth buy. Borrow it from a friend or check it out from the library. Or wait until it comes out in paperback. The first half of the book, which provides a definition and history of Fascism, is very interesting. The history of Fascism in America is eye-opening. The second half of the book, however, falls apart. He moves from a scholarly discussion on American Fascism to finding Fascism in every part of American Pop Culture. Goldberg becomes Chicken Little.

Well-researched explanation of fascism, a word that is commonly used without regard to its actual meaning as a way to discredit conservatives. This book shows how the fascist movement was really a phenomenon of the left, not the right, and makes the interesting point that Woodrow Wilson and FDR may have been benign fascists. Sometimes dry and hard to read, but still very informative. The beginning is the worst part, so stick with it.

An excellent read! I plan to start it all over again when I’m finished. My goal is to get all my Liberal friends (which, oddly, seems to be most of them) to read it. At least they might stop calling me the fascist.

In the process of reading now, very eye opening

Must read for everyone! Well written, and entertaining, as well as informative.