Increasingly America is being defined by its most extreme factions, whose controversial ideas often divide society against itself. The center, or mainstream, seems unable to withstand the fractures produced by radicals of both left and right. The Age of Extremism, with its combination of exact journalism and lively criticism, is the first book to define the culture and evolution of extremism that now pervades all aspects of society, from art and science to politics and religion.

Among the broad range of subjects detailed by the author are: the militia movement; surviving fringes of Trotskyites; black separatists, such as Louis Farrakhan; violent antiabortionists; NAMBLA, which seeks to legalize pedophilia; radical revisionists who deny the Holocaust; Neo-Nazis; and punks, hippies, anarchists, and religious communes.

With its lucid examination of contemporary culture, The Age of Extremism discusses such persons as Bret Easton Ellis, author of the sadomasochistic American Psycho; artist Damien Hirst and his formaldehyde sharks; and Quentin Tarantino, whose films glorify violence in a manner unlike any other in major media.

Once we understand why these groups exist and how they operate, we are left with a resounding question: Is this extremism a permanent condition of postmodern society or merely a temporary result of the upheaval that occurred with the transition to postindustrial society? This book arrives at a startling conclusion.