One Sheaf, One Vine: Racially Conscious White Americans Talk About Race [Paperback]

One Sheaf, One Vine is pure journalism - and I mean that in a good way, not a disparaging way. As recounted in his introduction, Griffin tape-recorded interviews with a broad variety of White Americans and typed up their statements, with a little editing, almost verbatim. They are speaking for themselves. Some are anonymous, some use their real names, but all are seeing the same thing: Race, contrary to the popular notion, is very real, and races are indeed different. What struck me is that most of the subjects began life as most of us did: believing, or wanting to believe, that "race is just a skin color," and that you can't generalize about races. But a combination of life experience and the writings and teachings of white nationalists changed that. Some were influenced by Pierce, others by David Duke, author of "My Awakening," others by Jared Taylor, editor of American Renaissance.

I preferred the subjects who had life stories to tell more than the ones who repeated the white nationalist political view, probably because I am already familiar with that. Many readers will see themselves: People who go about their daily lives, going to school, going to work, and noticing that "all is not right" with race in America. The media is silent on the matter. Schools pump up the multiracial utopia idea, as does the government, big business, and pretty much every other institution in our society. But these thoughts float around in our heads, going unspoken because of the great taboo associated with making critical comments about black people as a group or Jewish people as a group. In Griffin's book, you get to hear those thoughts. And you'll come to see that these people aren't "evil" or "ignorant," in fact, quite the opposite: many are quite well educated and most come off as very moral, very sincere people. It is the very opposite of the media view: anyone who dissents from the multiracial dogma is mentally unstable, uneducated or immoral.

I highly recommend One Sheaf, One Vine (the title comes from a Rudyard Kipling poem about life amongst different races). It is compelling material. If you consider yourself a dissenter from society's current position, you will take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. If you are an adherent to society's current position, you will at least get a look at what the people you disagree with are saying - without someone shouting them down as a "hater" in mid-sentence.