Homeland Security Bookshelf

by Dr. Joshua Sinai

This column consists of capsule reviews of 13 recently published books on terrorism, counter-terrorism, active shooter prevention, and military warfare.

Terrorism and Counterterrorism

Spreading Hate: The Global Rise of White Supremacist Terrorism

Daniel Byman, (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2022), 288 pages, $29.95 [Hardcover], ISBN: 978-0-1975-3761-9.

This is a comprehensive account of the growing prevalence of White Supremacist militant groups who engage in terrorist activities around the world. In the United States, the author begins the account with the various Ku Klux Klan organizations that were active in the pre–1960s civil rights era, which eventually evolved into the Skinhead and related extremist movements, which also spread throughout Europe, including Russia. These militant groups operate independently of each other around the world, and many of their violent assailants are lone actors who are inspired by them, especially in extremist Internet-based social media websites and forums. What makes this threat so significant in the current era, the author explains, is due to the fact that they have become increasingly violent, with what are primarily mass shootings by their lone actor adherents in countries such as New Zealand, Norway, and the U.S. In the U.S., in particular, these groups include the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who were involved in the January 6, 2021 violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol Buildin...