Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism: A Look at the Relationship Between Blackshirts and Reds

Viper03: This book gave a very thorough explanation and critique of communism, clearly showing the pros and cons. I would recommend this for anyone looking to make an argument about communism, whether for or against.

United States on Nov 16, 2022

Nargis Husainy: As with many things in the world, the first step is to recognize there is a problem. We as humanity are placed in a life and death struggle against the oppressors(multinational corporation which have co-opted the very governments which are meant to protect us from such things) which rule us. The next step is to be informed. This is where this book is incredibly useful. It helps delineate how our oppressors use various social movements as a battering ram against our class consciousness. The working class will rise above and defeat our oppressors, but it will be an arduous process. Good luck.

United States on Aug 28, 2022

J. Edgar Mihelic, MA, MA, MBA: I bought this because I had not read anything by Michael Parenti before and this was one of his shorter texts. The thing that struck me most about it was that I had thought that it was more recent, not 30 years old . The problem with that is that it still feels of the time and important – fascism is always present and needs awareness and pushback. We just have to keep fighting, in all eras.

United States on Aug 15, 2022

Alexander McLaughlin: I bought this text at a time of personal confusion. It truly is what it is reviewed and promoted as: a methodical examination of the forces that built our modern and thus contemporary world. A great text for those already committed to the struggle for equity, the citizen truly concerned about the future of our world, and even those disenchanted by the the usual cultural excuses who have the intellect and courage to ask “why”?

United States on Aug 13, 2022

Andrew Powers: I've never read Parenti 's actually writing, but have listened to many of his speeches. His approach to the topics in this book is both susinct and in plain enough language that I think anyone, regardless of their previous knowledge can understand. His work differs from other voices on the left because he doesn't feel the need to red-bash in order to be taken seriously. He presents his position without having to make up excuses or condemn revolutionary movements for their attributes that make some of the more cowardly leftists uncomfortable.

United States on May 25, 2022

Paul Cleenewerck: Michael Parenti draws a perfect parallel between those who hired blackshirts to repress reds in the past and those supporting anti eco activists today. He also debunks a lot of myths created against former communists regimes, while acknowledging the realities of their inefficiency though maintaining the fact that real, modernised Marxists theories have never truly been applied and remain an historical.

France on Nov 19, 2021

Amazon Customer: Insightful and gives concrete explanations on fascism, capitalism and communism. Great compact read.

United Kingdom on Jun 13, 2021

Spencer: Good stuff

Canada on Mar 06, 2021

Dzerzhinsky: Dr Parenti in his erudite style chronicles fascism's relationship with Capitalism. Parenti is correct and precise in his critique of 'left' anti-communists, their role in advancing fascism's goals plus their contemporary role as gatekeepers.

Highly recommended!

Five stars!

United Kingdom on Jan 04, 2019

Srecko Vojvodic: For thinkers, and especially actors of the class struggle this is an essential reading. It is beautifully written and contains a lot of precious data and thoughts. The downside of the reading is the language used: the book is written for the US readership and hence its language is, to a high degree, conventional for this audience: socialist countries are called communist nations, bourgeois social sciences are called conventional social sciences, imperialist blocks are called West, etc. Anyway, very high value of the text exceeds, by far, occasional inconveniences of the reading.

Canada on Dec 25, 2012