Founded in 1958 as a force for conservative political advocacy, the John Birch Society espoused the dangers of enemies - foreign and domestic - including the Soviet Union, organizers of the US civil rights movement, and government officials who were deemed "soft" on communism in both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Sound familiar?

In The World of the John Birch Society, author D. J. Mulloy reveals the tactics of the society in a way they've never been understood before, allowing the listener to make the connections to contemporary American politics, up to and including the Tea Party.

These tactics included organized dissemination of broad-based accusations and innuendo, political brinksmanship within the Republican Party, and frequent doomsday predictions regarding world events. At the heart of the organization was Robert Welch, a charismatic writer and organizer who is revealed to have been the lifeblood of the society's efforts.

The society has seen its influence recede from the high-water mark of 1970s, but the organization still exists today. Throughout The World of the John Birch Society, the listener sees the very tenets and practices in play that make the contemporary Tea Party so effective on a local level. Indeed, without the John Birch Society paving the way, the Tea Party may have encountered a dramatically different political terrain on its path to power.

The book is published by Vanderbilt University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

Praise for the book:

"A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the mind-set of the JBS." (H-Net Reviews in the Humanities & Social Sciences)

"Brilliantly reveals the Society's hard-nosed conservatism while linking it to movements that preceded today's Tea Party." (Publishers Weekly)

"A much-needed return to an examination of the far right." (Timothy Thurber, author of Republicans and Race)