This was an interesting and compulsively readable look at white supremacists groups online. I always appreciate when books like this emphasize how the unchecked hate speech and dehumanization of others leads to real-world violence. These groups are dangerous, and while there is snark and humor sprinkled in, Lavin takes their threat seriously. I also appreciate that her focus was not on Trump generally. She certainly mentions him, but he is not the be-all end-all of this issue and she instead focuses on the leaders of these groups online and the right-wing pundits who often exploit their audiences by promoting these perspectives (I’m looking at you, Blaire White, Charlie Kirk, etc). 

My favorite segment was on the religiosity of these groups. Lavin doesn’t just criticize Christian Nationalism but she also provided a lot of information about pagan white supremacy as well. It’s easy to put all the blame on Christians, but ultimately these white supremacists are twisting whatever religious beliefs they claim, and showing the similarity between Christian white supremacists and pagan white supremacists was really interesting to me.

Overall, this is not the most academic book out there but it does succinctly cover the topic in a way that I found effective and enjoyable to read. 

Also, if you want an expanded discussion on incels, I would highly recommend Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates.