The Black Panther Menace: America's Neo-Nazis
New York: Popular Library, ©1971. First edition. A sensationalistic and fiercely anti–Black Panther examination of the revolutionary organization, published at the height of the federal government's campaign against black radicalism and the growing divisions within the Black Panther Party itself. Edited by writer and lexicographer Norman Hill, the volume presents the Panthers as a violent, authoritarian movement whose political philosophy and organizational methods allegedly paralleled those of Nazi Germany.
Organized into six sections—"The Panther Manifesto," "The Panthers and the Nazis," "The Role of International Communism," "The Panther Trials," "Anti-Semitism as a Panther Policy," and "The Panorama of Urban Warfare"—the book examines Panther ideology, international communist connections, criminal prosecutions, internal power struggles, and allegations of antisemitism and political violence. Particular attention is directed toward prominent members Bobby Seale, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, Fred Hampton, and Mark Clark, whose activities are presented as evidence of the movement's fundamentally antidemocratic character.
In his remarkably polemical foreword, Hill acknowledges concerns that the book might be considered anti-black, while insisting that its opposition is directed specifically at the Panthers rather than African Americans generally. He condemns what he regards as the reluctance of white liberals and journalists to criticize black radicalism, invoking the observations of Saul Alinsky, Malcolm Muggeridge, and other commentators to support his argument. Repeated comparisons with Adolf Hitler and Mein Kampf culminate in Hill's warning that the apparent disintegration of the Panther organization should not be mistaken for the disappearance of its political threat. He declares the book "passionately anti-Panther" and argues that the movement's revolutionary rhetoric and alleged authoritarianism represent a danger to American democracy.
Mass market format, 286 pp., [2] pp., adverts. Very slight rubbing to covers, light wear and creasing to spine, a very good copy. Item #15451
Price: $75.00