The Redneck Manifesto How Hillbillies, Hicks, and White Trash Became America's Scapegoats Jim Goad 274 pages, Simon & Schuster, 1997

Goad makes a convincing case that prejudice and contempt directed against lower-class whites by blacks and upper-class whites amounts to nothing more than unabashed racism and class discrimination. He argues that class, not race, is the principal force of "oppression" in America, and that lower-class whites, who are descendants of original indentured servants, have never been in a position to oppress anyone, and in fact have historically been treated far worse than black slaves. The real villains, according to Goad, are not 'rednecks' but the Federal Government, Liberals, the Media, and the European upper class and their descendants, who used a policy of divide-and-conquer to create antagonism between lower-class whites and blacks in order to maintain the class structure in America. This idea is backed up by an overview of American history from a white lower-class viewpoint, including the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the violent labor conflicts in the early 20th century.

Unlike most other examples of socio-political polemic, however, Goad's writing style is witty, eloquent, and entertaining. This book is like a cross between Tom Wolfe and Rush Limbaugh. Although Goad would probably hate the comparison, his style is very similar to the early Norman Mailer - profane, colorful, and refreshingly vivid. In some chapters, it strays from its main theme and becomes a celebration of white working-class culture: its over-exuberant religious cults, its unique social structure and sometimes violent recreational activities, its resentment over taxes, and its lowbrow fascination with Bigfoot, Elvis, UFOs, black U.N. helicopters, and Jesus.

If more Angry White Males would write articulate, entertaining, and provocative books like this, there would be fewer incidents like the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, and greater understanding of the American psyche. Whether or not you agree with all of Goad's ideas, he represents an important, underrepresented, and underappreciated group in American society that deserves to be heard.