Dancing at Armageddon

Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times

Cloth $27.50 ISBN: 9780226532448 Published December 2001

Paper $25.00 ISBN: 9780226532462 Published October 2004

Winner of the Charles H. Cooley Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.

Richard G. Mitchell Jr. spent more than a dozen years among survivalists at public conferences, private meetings, and clandestine training camps across America. He takes us inside a compelling, hidden world more connected to the chaos of modern life many of us experience than the label "separatist" suggests. In survivalism Mitchell found a profound and meaningful critique of contemporary industrial society, a subculture in which the real evil is not repressive government but the far more insidious influence of a "Planet Microsoft" mentality with its abundance of empty choices. Survivalists, Mitchell shows us, are seeking resistance, not struggling against it; they are looking for ways to define themselves and test their talents in a society that is becoming devitalized and formless.

Soc for the Study of Symbolic Interactio: Charles H. Cooley Award
Won

View Recent Awards page for more award winning books.

"One of the first, and certainly one of the most readable, looks at the survivalist movement. . . . While adherents are often caricatured as dispossessed, paranoid loners, Mitchell reveals them to be not only stereotypical Rambo wannabes but also businessmen, doctors, and other professionals who are looking for a little adventure in our increasingly antiseptic, detached culture. Mitchell . . . discovers that [survivalism] is about more than an outsiders need to get power. Rather, the movement allows people often marginalized by society to exercise their creativity and gain success. . . . Insightful."

"Like most stereotypes, the typical view of survivalists is both true and false. Some wear camouflage and carry guns, but others sip lattes and read romance novels. Some live off the grid in bunkers stocked with canned goods, but others are found in suburban homes collecting money for their church. . . . Dancing at Armageddon presents this case in a convincing, lively way, bringing his anecdotes to life through well-paced, thickly detailed writing."

"Mitchell's book is an important attempt to clarify and contextualize a movement that thrives on mainstream society's fringes."

"Mitchell, a sociologist at Oregon State, zeroes in on this growing American subculture of racial separatists, tax protesters, citizen militias, and assorted 'enthusiasts for trouble.' He encountered apocalypse-obsessed Americans who shell out $700,000 for fortified retreats, subscribe to Survive magazine, belong to organizations with names like Mount Rainier Rangers, and groove to 'patriot' singer--songwriter Mark Koernke's 'We Must Take America Back.'"

Contents

Acknowledgments
1. Prospects
2. The Craft of Valuation
3. The Craft of Function
4. The Craft of Persuasion
5. Survivalism and Rational Times
6. Retrospects
Appendix
Notes
References
Index

For more information, or to order this book, please visit http://www.press.uchicago.edu

Anthropology: Cultural and Social Anthropology

Political Science: Political Behavior and Public Opinion

Religion: Religion and Society

Sociology: Collective Behavior, Mass Communication | Criminology, Delinquency, Social Control | General Sociology | Social Psychology--Small Groups

You may purchase this title at these fine bookstores. Outside the USA, see our international sales information.