Beginning this book was extremely interesting to me, a man who was initially a huge part of the white nationalists movement going against his beliefs. For maybe the first half the book I was extremely interested, and then it slowed down a lot for me. I thought it was great that the people of New College were able to help sway his beliefs, but I’m definitely skeptical. It seems that a lot of the changes in his beliefs were only to appease the girl he was interested in and I wonder if it wasn’t for that romantic connection if he would have gone back on his previous beliefs. Definitely an interesting read and made me think a lot about my own beliefs and the world around me. This also shows the importance of respectful discussions and debates rather than going after people for their beliefs. Having a respectful discussion can do wonders!

This is the astounding story of one man who grew up being a White Supremist, and somehow found his way out and became a man who no longer saw everyone who was not white as an enemy. When Eli goes to college, things begin to change for him. He sees other people, hears other perspectives, and begins to learn that people who are not like him could still be human. This was a fascinating book and a look into a world I never wanted to go to.

This is a true story of Derek Black, who grew3 up a white nationalist. His father was the founder of the largest racist community on the internet, Storm Front and he was the godson of David Duke, who I think is the grand wizard of the KKK. He enrolls at a liberal college in Florida and gets to know several students, including a Peruvian immigrant and some Jewish students and over time his beliefs change, allegedly. I say allegedly, because I find it hard to believe that someone who comes from such racist beliefs, since he was very young can change so drastically. After all a leopard can't change his spots; a cheater is always a cheater. If he truly has changed that would be wonderful, but I'd like to know how he is in 20, 30, 40 years from now.

This book is FANTASTIC!!!

I've mentioned it to many, many friends and the inspiring story continues to play out in my head. I think this should be required reading for students. And it just makes me feel hopeful, that even someone so immersed and marinated in hatred and racism can rise above.

I can't recommend the book highly enough.

This is an important, insightful and fascinating look into an area many of us don't want to look. I struggled to read the book but found it to be an ultimately encouraging and fascinating one.

An extremely important and relevant book for the past, present and future of the world. The author shows that there is a way to move beyond hatred, to rehabilitate those that are taught to hate from birth, and to move forward towards a better future.

It's always been fascinating to me to learn about how people become white supremacists or extreme racists. Then there's always the question of whether it's possible to actually change these people's minds about the views they hold. This non-fiction book is about Derek Black, who grew up in the white supremacist culture and was deemed by many to be the heir to the KKK throne. But when Derek enrolls at a liberal Florida college, his natural kind heart allows him to be exposed to the very people he was taught to spew hate about. With the encouragement and love of minority students who took up the challenge to try and break through to Derek, the young man is eventually able to see how dangerous and ultimately harmful his ideas (and his national influence) were to millions of Americans. I thought Saslow's thorough research helped give background to the rise of white supremacy in the US and its terrifying resurgence during our current president's reign. His in-depth interviews with all of the parties involved provide the reader with a balanced look at a very complicated issue (especially once Derek decides to become open with his new outlook on the world with his racist and extremely conservative family). There were some parts of the book that felt a tad repetitive and it was a little long overall, but ultimately, it's a really powerful read that offers some hope for how to rehabilitate people who are taught to hate.

In the very best of circumstances, diving into a dark mind is dirty and unpleasant. In the worst, some of that darkness leaves a mark of the indelible sort. Though I was fascinated by the description of this book, highly interested in finding out what goes on in the brain of a person raised in racism and prejudice, I was also afraid. What would this book make me aware of? What would I start seeing in my family and friends? What would it make me see in myself?



Ultimately, of course, I read the book, and I feel all the richer for having done so. Derek Black has been known as a singular person all his life. I find myself completely in agreement on this verdict, though for quite different reasons than the people he grew up around. Reading through his story, finding out how willing he was to maintain open-mindedness and the way he maintained such a high level of honesty and integrity throughout his journey was astounding to me.



True, he had his sneaky-sneaky moments. Getting up in the cover of pre-dawn to host a radio show that he kept hidden from his classmates - surely he knew even then that what he was doing was not quite right. He was able to explain his behavior away by blaming his classmates, though. Their liberal minds would not be able to process his harsh truths, after all. So better that he keep his actions hidden so as not to instigate a riot.



Far and away the biggest hero of this book, though, is not Derek himself (though his willingness to change and grow and transform himself is utterly remarkable and admirable). It is not Eli Saslow (although his book is a work of art, truly). In my humble opinion, the true hero here is the Orthodox Jew classmate of Derek's who continued his weekly Shabbat dinners - and continued inviting Derek to them. Those dinners were the turning point for Derek, as he openly admits. It was there that his ideas were challenged, and his fledgling understanding that much of his "knowledge" was wrong was allowed to grow and flourish.



If I were ever fortunate enough to meet that man, I would be so pleased to offer a quiet and heartfelt "Thank you." His generosity, his faith, his unflappable determination to continue on the righteous path has made an indescribable difference in the lives of countless people. He impacted Derek, of course. But also the others who attended those weekly dinners. The other students and faculty on campus who heard about them. Each person who reads this book and learns of what he did.



I truly hope that Derek has been able to maintain contact with that classmate. The world needs more like these two men - willing to be open, willing to listen, willing to learn, willing to challenge in a safe and responsible way. They are truly wonderful people.



What Saslow has done here is create a remarkably comprehensive picture of the soul transformation of Derek Black. The amount of research that has clearly gone into this book is staggering. Most impressive, though, is the way it is all put together. "Rising Out of Hatred" reads as smoothly as the best kind of novel, yet it is completely fact-based. By the end, I felt I have as great an understanding of a complete stranger as it is possible to have. I cannot speak highly enough of Saslow's writing.



All of this and so much more comes to light in Saslow's book. It is my hope that this will be shelved in every library, made required reading in schools, and be read and reread by audiences far and wide.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. It was inspiring to know that while the world may be full of hate right now, there is hope that people can change.

It must have been so difficult for Derek to do what he did, to stand up against his family. But it shows that while someone might be raised a certain way, connection, education and an open-mind can change that. I will highly recommend this book.

I really struggled to read this book. I have read many other reviews in which people complain that the author does directly note when he is quoting Derek or Don. In the author's note at the back of the book, Saslow clearly indicates having spent hours interviewing Derek, Don, Allison, and many others for the book. He thanks them all by name. The writing style is meant to be readable and, thus, useful to discussion and reflection. A more heavily cited book- meaning dates of conversations, etc.- would not have been as readable or easily quoted.

The hardest part of this book for me was Allison's relentless engagement with Derek. Her willingness to go all the way so that she might engage him was brave and compassionate, but also had to be exhausting. I definitely wanted to hear from her if she had ever drawn a line. If he had refused to renounce, if he had persisted in some of his beliefs, when would she have said, "I love you, but I can't do this." I understand the concept and healing possibilities of relationship, but I felt like I needed more about the long-term costs of her engagement with the ideology and confronting Derek on his whole history.

Additionally, I would really have liked a bibliography for this book. I realize that Saslow read things recommended by Don Black and David Duke, but it would have been good to have a reference list for people who may want to be the Allison to someone else's Derek. Allison equipped herself for that fight, but Saslow did not help others to do the same.

I don't know that Derek "rose out" of hatred. I think he was walked out of it. People came alongside him, at the risk of their own safety and mental well-being, and waited him out. They did not indulge him, but they also did not persecute him.

The fact remains, however, that the whirlwind that Derek sowed is still spinning and wreaking havoc, even as he has turned away from it. The children who imbibed his poisonous words years ago are now adults who do not have the same Allisons and Matthews to walk alongside them. This could be because they don't live near them or it could be because they drove them away for any number of reasons.

This book underscores the danger of closed community and failure to critically examine what is presented as truth. Furthermore, it shows the very seeds of fear-mongering (with lies) that built the white nationalist movement in the United States. The real question is: will the present Dereks read this book and come to a new understanding of America's possibilities or will they reject this book and double-down on ideologies that divide and tear apart.

Final comment, I find the cover art a poor choice. The shift from black to white, combined with the verb "rising", implies that white is a more pure state than black. While I want to assume that no one designing the cover meant to imply such things, it is this kind of subtle pairing that continues to support a white/good, black/bad dichotomy. 

I did receive a review copy of this book from Net Galley.

I also listened to the audiobook version, which did NOT include the author's notes at the end.

Thankfully, the subtitle gave me the courage to read this compelling story. The transformation of Roland Derek Black from white supremacist movement's heir apparent to a thoughtful, earnest racial equity activist was moving. Saslow's writing smoothly and authentically revealed the organic evolution of Black's ideology.

Important and timely, 'Rising Out of Hatred' should be required reading. Extremely interesting read.

I got a copy of this book months and months ago, but with the political environment that I had to see and hear about on a daily basis exhausted me and I ended up waiting a while before reading this so I could almost “mentally prepare myself” for anything that might come up in this book. I was intrigued by the premise of this book. The idea that someone who was raised in such a staunchly white supremacist household (and was the godson of David Duke himself....) and was seen as the future of the movement that could renounce his ideologies and change his views was fascinating to me. I feel like I can’t write a good enough review to give this book proper justice. I will say that at someone who doesn’t identify with any of their core values or beliefs, it was interesting (albeit still very much appalling) to see what reasoning they used to defend their platform.

Derek Black's story is a really important example of personal change. It is particularly timely as white nationalists are gain mainstream political support and exploiting the dynamics of social inequality in the US. Saslow did a great job with writing this book.

Timely, eye-opening, horrifying, yet hopeful, I loved this book. It offered a glimpse into a dark and scary part of society.

Beginning this book was extremely interesting to me, a man who was initially a huge part of the white nationalists movement going against his beliefs. For maybe the first half the book I was extremely interested, and then it slowed down a lot for me. I thought it was great that the people of New College were able to help sway his beliefs, but I’m definitely skeptical. It seems that a lot of the changes in his beliefs were only to appease the girl he was interested in and I wonder if it wasn’t for that romantic connection if he would have gone back on his previous beliefs. Definitely an interesting read and made me think a lot about my own beliefs and the world around me.

Unbelievable writing and reporting. Can't recommend this enough. I was floored by the detail and the process by which Eli was able to engender trust from his sources.

Read my full review: https://abookandareview.blogspot.com/2018/11/rising-out-of-hatred-awakening-of.html

4 Stars

Review placed on: Goodreads; Twitter; Facebook; Amazon

My Review: Overall, I would say this was a very good read. There were many aspects as to why it made an excellent read. It was interesting to see a man go through growth when put into a less insular setting and have to live with the consequences of his past choices. I felt the author chronicled that well, including Derek's changing relationships (particularly his father) as he went through these changes.

I also found Derek's classmates reaction to his changing core values very interesting (no spoilers here).

Overall, I felt the book was a 5 star read. Where I marked it down was due to the author's glaring bias against Conservatives. I had really wanted this to be a "just the facts, ma'am" type of read, but it wasn't. I found "tidbits" of bias added in where it wasn't necessary and brought absolutely nothing to the book. Standing on the outside, I was very sad with this. I thought the author brought a very important book into the market.

Do I still recommend the book? Hell yes! I recommend it to show that people can change. I recommend it to show that preconceived notions and judgement of others is often wrong and one needs to get to know a person individually BEFORE passing judgement on him/her. Something that in this age of "sheepish" heightened politics and Jim Jones' kool-aid drinking often doesn't occur and a person is judged by the way he/she votes versus the content of his/her character and awakenings during one's life for whatever the reason.

Reviewed for publisher via Netgalley

I truly wish this was required reading for everyone in American in 2018.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Rising Out of Hatred" is the fascinating account of one young man's departure from a life dedicated to the cause of white nationalism. The thought-provoking book explores Derek Black's upbringing surrounded by leaders of the KKK (David Duke was his godfather) and Stormfront (the extremist website was founded by his father, Don Black). It also details his time at New College Florida, where he met Jews, blacks and Hispanics in real life basically for the first time. The college community mostly ostracized Derek once they knew about his family, but several students undertook a long-term campaign to win his trust and dismantle his worldview. I'm not giving anything away when I say that they were ultimately successful. Is that strategy of engagement worthwhile? Is it a burden that women and minorities should be expected to bear? The book doesn't have answers, but you'll have a lot to think about while you're reading about Derek and his life.