Also by J.M. Berger

Let the Game Do Its Work

From Rollerball to Battle Royale to The Hunger Games, readers and moviegoers have flocked to spectacle dystopias -- a genre of fiction in which a dysfunctional society is centered around a terrible, violent form of entertainment. J.M. Berger, author of Extremism and The Turner Legacy, provides a history of the spectacle dystopia from its almost-forgotten origins in 1878 through modern incarnations such as The Running Man and The Purge franchise, looking at how these works came to be and how they have spilled over into the real world in unexpected and sometimes dangerous ways.

The Turner Legacy

The Turner Diaries, the infamous racist dystopian novel by neo-Nazi William Luther Pierce, has inspired more than 200 murders since its publication in 1978. Arguably the most important single work of white nationalist propaganda in the English language, it is not a singular artifact, but part of a genre of racist dystopian propaganda dating back to the U.S. Civil War. J.M. Berger dives deep into the impact of extremist dystopian literature.

Extremism (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series)

A rising tide of extremist movements threaten to destabilize civil societies around the globe. It has never been more important to understand extremism, yet the dictionary definition—a logical starting point in a search for understanding—tells us only that extremism is “the quality or state of being extreme.” J. M. Berger offers a nuanced introduction to extremist movements, explaining what extremism is, how extremist ideologies are constructed, and why extremism can escalate into violence.

ISIS: The State of Terror

The Islamic State, known as ISIS, exploded into the public eye in 2014 with startling speed and shocking brutality. Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger, two of America’s leading experts on terrorism, dissect the new model for violent extremism that ISIS leveraged into an empire of death in Iraq and Syria.

Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam

They are Americans, and they are mujahideen. Hundreds of men from every imaginable background have walked away from the traditional American dream to volunteer for battle as jihadist fighters. Some have taken part in foreign wars that aligned with U.S. interests, while others have carried out violence against Westerners abroad, fought against the U.S. military, and even plotted terrorist attacks on American soil. J.M. Berger provides the definitive history of this extremist movement.

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