The Family : The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power

EDITORIAL REVIEW: A journalist's penetrating look at the untold story of christian fundamentalism's most elite organization, a self-described invisible network dedicated to a religion of power for the powerful They are the Familyfundamentalism's avant-garde, waging spiritual war in the halls of American power and around the globe. They consider themselves the new chosencongressmen, generals, and foreign dictators who meet in confidential cells, to pray and plan for a "leadership led by God," to be won not by force but through "quiet diplomacy." Their base is a leafy estate overlooking the Potomac in Arlington, Virginia, and Jeff Sharlet is the only journalist to have reported from inside its walls. \*The Family\* is about the other half of American fundamentalist powernot its angry masses, but its sophisticated elites. Sharlet follows the story back to Abraham Vereide, an immigrant preacher who in 1935 organized a small group of businessmen sympathetic to European fascism, fusing the far right with his own polite but authoritarian faith. From that core, Vereide built an international network of fundamentalists who spoke the language of establishment power, a "family" that thrives to this day. In public, they host Prayer Breakfasts; in private, they preach a gospel of "biblical capitalism," military might, and American empire. Citing Hitler, Lenin, and Mao as leadership models, the Family's current leader, Doug Coe, declares, "We work with power where we can, build new power where we can't." Sharlet's discoveries dramatically challenge conventional wisdom about American fundamentalism, revealing its crucial role in the unraveling of the New Deal, the waging of the cold war, and the no-holds-barred economics of globalization. The question Sharlet believes we must ask is not "What do fundamentalists want?" but "What have they already done?" Part history, part investigative journalism, \*The Family\* is a compelling account of how fundamentalism came to be interwoven with American power, a story that stretches from the religious revivals that have shaken this nation from its beginning to fundamentalism's new frontiers. No other book about the right has exposed the Family or revealed its far-reaching impact on democracy, and no future reckoning of American fundamentalism will be able to ignore it.

They insist they are just a group of friends, yet they funnel millions of dollars through tax-free corporations. They claim to disdain politics, but congressmen of both parties describe them as the most influential religious organization in Washington. They say they are not Christians, but simply believers.

Behind the scenes at every National Prayer Breakfast since 1953 has been the Family, an elite network dedicated to a religion of power for the powerful. Their goal is "Jesus plus nothing." Their method is backroom diplomacy. The Family is the startling story of how their faith—part free-market fundamentalism, part imperial ambition—has come to be interwoven with the affairs of nations around the world.

"They insist they are just a group of friends, yet they funnel milions of dollars through tax-free corporations. They claim to disdain politics, but congressmen of both parties describe them as the most influential religious organization in Washington. They say they are not Christians, but simply believers. Behind the scenes at every National Prayer Breakfast since 1953 has been the Family, an elite network dedicated to a religion of power for the powerful. Their goal is 'Jesus plus nothing.' Their method is backroom diplomacy. The Family is the startling story of how their faith--part free-market fundamentalism, part imperial ambition--has come to be interwoven with the affairs of nations around the world."-- Cover, p.4 Draws On The Author's Experiences Living Undercover Within The Ranks Of The Family Theocratic Group In Arlington, Virginia, To Explore Fundamentalism In America And Its Role In Influencing Democracy. Awakenings. Ivanwald ; Experimental Religion ; Revival Machine -- Jesus Plus Nothing. Unit Number One ; The F Word ; The Ministry Of Proper Enlightenment ; The Blob ; Vietnamization ; Jesus + 0 = X ; Interesting Blood -- The Popular Front. What Everybody Wants ; The Romance Of American Fundamentalism ; Unschooling ; This Is Not The End. Jeff Sharlet. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [393]- 432) And Index. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 393-432) And Index. "They insist they are just a group of friends, yet they funnel milions of dollars through tax-free corporations. They claim to disdain politics, but congressmen of both parties describe them as the most influential religious organization in Washington. They say they are not Christians, but simply beilievers. Behind the scenes at every National Prayer Breakfast since 1953 has been the Family, an elite network dedicated to a religion of power for the powerful. Their goal is 'Jesus plus nothing.' Their method is backroom diplomacy." -- Cover, p.4. Awakenings Ivanwald Experimental Religion The Revival Machine Jesus Plus Nothing Unit Number One The F Word The Ministry of Proper Enlightenment The Blob Vietnamization Jesus + 0 = X Interesting Blood The Popular Front Interlude What Everybody Wants The Romance of American Fundamentalism Unschooling This Is Not the End Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 24, 2008).