This book really helped me understand what people mean by the "alt-right". It put today's political movement into historical perspective, and gave me a deeper understanding of this ideology's impact on our country and choices. The book didn't seem to be overly biased or partisan. I really appreciated the insight into something has been confusing me for some time.

I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.

The author does a notable job of exploring the history and implications of the alt-right. He also describes how it is fundamentally different from traditional and neo-conservatism. What public individuals are considered part of the alt-right?

He explains how members get around social media bans on racial slurs and other controls. They seem to always be one step ahead of these sites.. Hawley brings up questions on the potential dangers of the alt-right. Are they just an insignificant fringe group? Is the movement global? Another important question comes from the free speech versus censorship debate..

He really doesn't "make sense" of the alt-right, like the title says, However he does explain their ideology and raises a lot of questions.

The complete review has been posted on UnderratdReads

an adequate if uninspiring take on the 'new right,' which really doesn't reveal much not already known nor does it articulate this in such a manner as to feel compelling.

Making Sense of the Alt-Right
by George Hawley
Published: September 2017

Making Sense of the Alt-Right offers a quick primer on the relatively new extremist offshoot of American conservatism.
The Alternative Right's primary focus is aggressive, irreverent white-identitarian politics, but as it gains traction has also begun to capture a jumbled web of disgruntled conservatives seeking an outlet from the mainstream.

Hawley details the ideological foundations (racial realism, paleoconservatism, radical libretarianism) as well as the projections for the future of the movement in Trump's America. Because there is no centralized leader, the messages and strategies that "go viral" are the ones that are perpetuated, giving the movement a haphazard, disjointed quality.

4.5 out of 5 stars: Somehow despite being one of the biggest buzzwords of the 2016 election and following year, I didn't know much more about this trend than the fact that it existed and it's lifeblood was extremist hate speech. Turns out, news coverage of the group was only hyperbolic in insinuating the group was organized and cohesive (so don't worry, all of the horrible racist, misogynist, shocking language you've heard spewed really are quite accurate). Well-researched and very thorough read - I will definitely be checking out Hawley's other books in the hopes to shed some light on other factions within our political spectrum. Alt-left anyone?

This was an interesting and well-researched book that should be read by anyone interested in political movements. One of the strengths of the book is the extent of the research done by the author, especially as it means people can get a sense of what the alt-right is (and isn't) without having to actual view the social media sites or listen to the racist ignorance of the alt-right followers. A second strength of the book is that the author does a good job of explaining who/what the alt-right isn't, including that the populist movement of Trump is not an example of the alt-right, although there are similar views when it comes to issues such as immigration and Trump's rhetoric has helped the alt-right gain more publicity.

Something I think is particularly important is the author's emphasis and explanation that the alt-right is not an element of the conservative movement. In fact, as the author states, the "Alt-Right rejects the major premises of the conservative movement: the so-called three-legged stool of moral traditionalism, economic liberty, and strong national defense." Rather, other than "non-whites" (as the alt-right is inherently a racist/white nationalist movement), the main enemy of the alt-right is conservatism, which the author argues (convincingly) that the alt-right wants to entirely displace.

One of the things I found interesting is that according to Richard Spencer, one of the "founders" and most prominent members of the alt-right, the typical member of the alt-right is "someone who is thirty years old, who is a tech professional, who is an atheist, and who lives on one of the coasts."

There are many other interesting facts and discussions in the book, which I will let other readers discover for themselves.

This is probably the best objective, non-partisan, and fair account of the rise of the "Alt-Right" in American politics. Regardless of your politics, this is worth understanding. I'm pretty familiar with the topic, and I learned a few things about the early origins of Alt Right which I didn't know before.

If you're not familiar with the material, more information about "Internet troll culture", forums like 4chan/8ch, you probably will want to look into those to really understand the movement.

A few missing elements from the book were somewhat unfortunate, but probably could be addressed in other books:
1) The disillusionment of a lot of the right wing libertarians, especially those of a certain age (late Gen X), after Ron Paul was effectively marginalized by the Republican Party.
2) The private edgy libertarian forums (like the TRS Facebook group) which pretty directly moved the movement from libertarianism to explicit white identity politics
3) More details about specific highly influential memes (the "Helicopter Rides", "Snek" and "Physical Removal" (Hoppe) stuff
4) Censorship on specific platforms and how it has caused the movement to evolve (this was mentioned about Twitter, but YouTube and other platforms were equally relevant)
5) Charlottesville and the problems with the leaderless collection of movements, probl
6) The "Shoah-ing" of The Daily Stormer by GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Google, and tens
7) The Richard Spencer/Whitefish/lawsuits, now involving not just Spencer but also Anglin, DS, etc.
8) Russian connection (intelligence agencies, expatriation of some of the more famous personalities like Anglin/weev, etc.)
9) Sex/gender and the movement (The "THOT Patrolling"/"White Sharia" thing with various alt-lite female personalities vs. some of the MGTOW/hardcore alt-right people
10) Religion -- while it's claimed the movement is highly atheist, there has definitely been a reference to both more "traditional" forms of Christianity, and paganism -- this was mentioned in the book, but not in particular detail.
11) The "skeptic community" and "atheist community" and how they merged somewhat with the alt-right
(I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC for free, although I would have likely purchased it otherwise.)

Overall, I'd highly recommend this book.

Author George Hawley makes a valiant attempt to evaluate the thinking of right-wing individuals and groups. This is helpful in some respects as the reader learns the variations that exist. Some are racist; some are not. Some are anonymous, some are not. Some are solely Internet-based with no physical connections among the so-called members. Nevertheless, this book seems to be a theoretical study based on generalizations, and there is no evidence that the author has any personal experiences with any of these right-wing groups.

A nice book with erudite historical discussions on "American Alt-Right 2017". It complements nicely with Angela Nagle’s “Kill All Normies” as this book has more of an academic tone. It discusses the relationship between classical American conservatism, traditional American White nationalism and the Alt-Right with its Web origins. I think it does a good job of differentiating between these different segments of the American Right unlike some other books that just bundles up the whole range of White nationalist right in US (for example Alt-America that was also published in 2017 by Verso).

A good overview of the history and development of the alt-right, offering clarifying distinctions between "alt-right" and "alt-lite." Short and easy to read, Hawley's primer includes basic definitions and accessible analysis in just over 200 pages. Hawley explains the differences between the alt-right and the mainstream conservative movement, highlighting the traditional gate-keeping role of institutions like the National Review and William F. Buckley in weeding the most noxious racist and antisemitic elements from the right-wing mainstream.

Published in 2017, Making Sense of the Alt-Right was clearly written before the Charlottesville protests, and so the discussion of Trump's relationship to its alt-right supporters is dated and incomplete. If a second edition is released, an afterword reflecting on the neo-Nazi violence and Trump's response would help flesh out the story.

Very well researched book on white supremacist movement and their use of social media to manipulate their audience

This book did, for me, go a long way toward what its title says it will do. Along with many other people I have been baffled by the state of politics, not just in the U.S. but worldwide. Making Sense of the Alt Right helps explain it. You'll learn about the history of the alt right, fairly young as it was conceived in 2008 (and then again, in its current form, in 2014). You'll learn about how it spread via the internet, in particular certain online publications, and as a result doesn't have any sort of organized body or recognized leaders. You'll learn about the Alt Lite -- this is actually a derogatory term the Alt Right uses against conservatives that don't think the neoconservative system is working, but who do not completely buy in to the Alt Right agenda, maybe particularly the racial components.

Because it is these, more than anything, that define the Alt Right -- the white nationalist / white supremacist movements we all thought were dead and gone. Perhaps the biggest mystery this book solved for me was millennials' involvement in this movement -- its status as by and large an online movement has made it both hip and fun (unlike those humorless angry Republicans of the 80s and 90s), and also allows followers to remain anonymous. George Hawley describes the millennials as ahistorical Alt-Righters -- they have shown up (or logged on) in protest of their own discontent and disempowerment, the lack of jobs out there and the generation's subsequent failure to launch relative to generations past.

This is an eye-opening and essential read for anyone interested in the craziness of politics at the moment, and anyone baffled at what's happening within the Republican party. I will highly recommend this quick read to anyone!

This book is essentially a short analysis of the alt right, from where it started to where it is now, the part the movement playing in the 2016 election of Donald Trump, and it's key players, such as Richard Spencer and Milo Yiannopoulos.
I have some background knowledge of the alt-right, and though this book was somewhat academic in the way it was written, I found it accessible enough that I understood it and came out of it with a greater knowledge of the movement. I also found it had me toying with some of my beliefs, such as whether you could confidently place Donald Trump as a member of the alt right himself. Though the author and I disagree, I found his reasoning fairly persuasive and it has changed my mind on a few things.
I would be interested in reading more political analysis by this author, particularly around Donald Trump.

This book attempts to explain what the alt-right is and what it is not. It is a white nationalist movement that is an online phenomenon. Just as the KKK members hide their heads under their white hoods, the alt-right members hide their identities while online. The movement is diverse and does not have a leader or cohesive ideology that all of its followers would agree upon. It is a reactionary movement against the staid conservatives that uses humor to attract young people and to hide their hatred. They are antifeminist as well as being white supremacists and while many of them are anti-Semetic, there are some who are not. The book looks at several individuals who are involved in the movement and its impact on the last election and what its future may be.