In Join the Conspiracy: How a Brooklyn Eccentric Got Lost on the Right, Infiltrated the Left, and Brought Down the Biggest Bombing Network in New York, Jonathan Butler explores the life of George Demmerle, a factory worker from Brooklyn who became deeply involved in the radical movements of the 1960s.

Initially siding with right-wing ideologies, Demmerle's journey took a dramatic turn as he infiltrated leftist groups, all while secretly acting as an FBI informant. It’s a story of political extremism and undercover work during one of the most chaotic decades in U.S. history. It’s packed with surprising twists and paints a picture of someone who never really fit in anywhere, even as he infiltrated almost everywhere.

For those interested in the intricacies of 1960s activism and the shadowy world of informants, this book offers a compelling read.​

I received this advance reader copy of Join the Conspiracy from Fordham University Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pretty interesting read. It did have a lot of general history on anti-war activism but also the nuance and difficulty of acting in your morals. Even the best intended beliefs can be tainted by extremism. Whether you agree or disagree with his actions, the story itself was very interesting in itself.

I really really wanted to read and review this book, but unfortunately I was not able to access an assistive reader for this arc, either in the NetGalley app or in Kindle. I need this accessibility device because I have diminished vision. I recommend to the publishers and Netgalley to make ARCs accessible by assistive readers to prevent excluding other visually impaired readers.

Please make assistive readers available on arcs for readers with diminished vision!