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Willis Carto and the American Far Right. By George Michael. (Gainesville and other cities: University Press of Florida, c. 2008. Pp. [viii], 341 . $45.00, ISBN 978-0-8130-3198-9.)
Willis Allison Carto (born in 1926) was not the orbital center of U.S. radical Right politics because he lacked both the charisma and the leadership for that role. Yet since 1955 he has been a galvanizing right-wing force. He has worked with figures on the Right's extreme fringe, such as Matt Koehl of the American Nazi Party, Tom Metzger of the White Aryan Resistance, and William L. Pierce, founder of the neofascist National Alliance. Carto has also worked with and supported right-wing politicians like Texas congressman Ron Paul and former Ohio congressman James A. Traficant Jr. (until recently imprisoned for taking bribes and racketeering). It is safe to say that any far-right-winger of substance operating between those two poles has worked with, fought against, or been influenced by Carto's multifaceted projects. George Michael therefore rightly urges that Carto's "story should be told" (p. 3)
Yet this book is scarcely about Willis Carto. Perhaps the materials for such a biography are unavailable; or else...