The Long-Building War On Democracy

David Neiwert The Age of Insurrection: The Radical Right’s Assault On American Democracy

From a smattering of ominous right-wing compounds in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, to the shocking January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, America has seen the culmination of a long-building war on democracy being waged by a fundamentally violent and antidemocratic far-right movement that unironically calls itself the “Patriot” movement.
So how did we get here? Award-winning journalist David Neiwert — who been following the rise of these extremist groups since the late 1970s, when he was a young reporter in Idaho — explores how the movement was built over decades, how it was set aflame by Donald Trump and his cohorts, and how it will continue to attack American democracy for the foreseeable future. Neiwert especially studies how the Pacific Northwest has long been a breeding ground of extremist violence, from the time when neo-nazis migrated to the area from southern California in the 1970s, through the great battles in Portland and Seattle and neighboring towns over the last decade.
Laying out how these groups organize their terroristic violence and attacks on democratic institutions at every level—including local, state, and federal targets—Neiwert details what their strategies and plans look like for the foreseeable future.

David Neiwert is an award-winning investigative journalist and the author of several books, including Red Pill, Blue Pill: How to Counteract the Conspiracy Theories that are Killing Us (Prometheus 2020), Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump. David also writes about and publishes photos of Orca whales, his book, Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us is an essential read.

Jori Lewis – Slaves for Peanuts: A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop That Changed History

Who knew the humble peanut could provide a fascinating backdrop for an expedition into history, geography, culture, economics, and West Africa. Award-winning independent writer, Jori Lewisweaves a complex story in Slaves For Peanuts with a deft hand at including the tiniest of details without ever boring her reader. Few of us know the peanut’s tumultuous history or its intimate connection to slavery and freedom. Jori Lewisexplains the natural and human history of a crop that transformed the lives of millions. She reveals how demand for peanut oil in Europe ensured that slavery in Africa would persist well into the twentieth century, long after the European powers had officially banned it in the territories they controlled. Delving deep into West African and European archives, Lewis recreates a world on the coast of Africa that is breathtakingly real and unlike anything modern readers have experienced. Slaves For Peanuts is told through the eyes of a set of richly detailed characters—from an African-born French missionary harboring runaway slaves, to the leader of a Wolof state navigating the politics of French imperialism—who challenge our most basic assumptions of the motives and people who supported human bondage. At a time when Americans are grappling with the enduring consequences of slavery, here is a new and revealing chapter in its global history.