Blood and Politics: The History of the White Nationalist Movement from the Margins to the Mainstream by Zeskind, Leonard

Originally published to great acclaim in 2009, Blood and Politics is an unprecedented, sweeping history of white nationalism's rise in America from a MacArthur Award-winning expert in the field.

Over decades of archival and in-person research, Leonard Zeskind explored the startling underworld of white supremacist organizations in the United States, from think tanks and publications to armed militia groups. Tracing a vast web of Holocaust deniers, Christian Identity churches, neo-Nazi skinheads, and high-profile figures like David Duke, Zeskind finds that these factions--once thought to be fringe extremists--have both deep roots and far-reaching ambitions.

Thorough, careful, and troublingly prescient, Blood and Politics is an essential study of American racism and a rallying cry for the ongoing fight against hate.

Author: Leonard Zeskind
Publisher: Picador USA
Published: 10/13/2026
Pages: 688
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.40w x 1.50d
ISBN: 9781250460936

About the Author
Leonard Zeskind (1949-2025) was a union organizer and community activist prior to founding the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights in 1983. He was research director of the Center for Democratic Renewal, a national clearinghouse for efforts to counter hate-group activity, and wrote widely on racism and anti-Semitism for publications such as The New York Times, The American Prospect, and The Nation. He was awarded a MacArthur "genius grant" in 1998 for his research on American hate groups.