Chicago Law Review
"One of the best books on American politics published in the last decade."


Ralph Braccio, The Christian Science Monitor
"Rogin provides examples sufficient to convince the reader that policies engineered to control subversion have been of major importance and have been a constant feature of American politics. . . . [An] important book."


Book Description
The fear of the subversive has governed American politics, from the racial conflicts of the early republic to the Hollywood anti-Communism of Ronald Reagan. Political monstersthe Indian cannibal, the black rapist, the demon rum, the bomb-throwing anarchist, the many-tentacled Communist conspiracy, the agents of international terrorismare familiar figures in the dream life that so often dominates American political consciousness. What are the meanings and sources of these demons? Why does the American political imagination conjure them up? Michael Rogin answers these questions by examining the American countersubversive tradition.


From the Back Cover
"Fresh, provocative, and full of vitality, this is a first- rate contribution to the study of political culture. It should be read not only by political scientists, political theorists, and sociologists, but also by students of American studies and literature." (Sheldon Wolin, Princeton University)


About the Author
Michael P. Rogin is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Subversive Geneology: The Politics and Art of Herman Melville (California, 1985).

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The fear of the subversive has governed American politics, from the racial conflicts of the early republic to the Hollywood anti-Communism of Ronald Reagan. Political monsters￯﾿ﾽthe Indian cannibal, the black rapist, the demon rum, the bomb-throwing anarchist, the many-tentacled Communist conspiracy, the agents of international terrorism￯﾿ﾽare familiar figures in the dream life that so often dominates American political consciousness. What are the meanings and sources of these demons? Why does the American political imagination conjure them up? Michael Rogin answers these questions by examining the American countersubversive tradition.

Author Biography: Michael P. Rogin is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and author of Subversive Geneology: The Politics and Art of Herman Melville (California, 1985).

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal