Book Review: Rising Out of Hatred

Rising Out of Hatred
The awakening of a former white nationalist
By Eli Saslow



I bought, and read this book back in November. My memory is a bit fuzzy with this one. I am just catching up. I neglected to add my posts in the last few months. I can't say I enjoyed reading it. But, it was informative, and very difficult to read at times.


 Derek Black was contacted several times by Eli Saslow to write about he's experiences as a White Nationalist. Derek Black is the son of a white supremist, Don Black creator of the website, Stormfront. He is the god son of the former KKK Grand Wizard, David Duke. He's parents kept him isolated from schools and instead had him home schooled. Instead his father took him regularly to white supremacist conventions, . Here also, Derek developed his own website at the age of 10 of white supremacy.

 Derek was sheltered from others. He couldn't and didn't interact with others that didn't share his same beliefs. What a change Derek must have went through. The school was a liberal college. With all types of students, White, Black, Asian, LGBT, Jewish, ......

What they didn't realize when Derek decided to go to college. Derek would slowly change his ideas about racism, and white supremacy. When he decided to go to college,

at New College in Sarasota, Fl.  slowly, he's ideas about race, religion, and any body that looks different slowly changed. He slowly made friends and acquaintances with others that were different from him. He made a friend in the Jewish community. He was invited to different Jewish functions, and interacted with them. He hid his double life until someone exposed him. When it was learned who he was. On campus no one wanted to speak to him after it was learned who and what he was.

After a time he met a young lady who became he's a girlfriend. She slowly did her research about white supremacy. She and Derek had many conversations. She thought she could challenge him and change his thinking by convincing him that white supremacy was not moral.

The book lost me trying to convince me that he is a changed man because of he's girlfriend. There has to be other reasons that would convince him it wasn't right, or moral being a white supremacist. The book drew me in at first. But, wasn't convincing enough. I would not recommend reading, and a waste of time.