By Vilbert L. White Jr. (Author), Mike Wallace (Foreword). This detailed study of the internal workings of the Nation of Islam under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan examines the evolution of the organization since 1977 and its strange ideological menu of Black Nationalism, political-economic development, anti-Semitism, and conservative Republican ideals. Vibert White maintains that Farrakhan's Nation has become a cult that utilizes black nationalistic and religious dogma and its ability to create political and racial controversy to exploit poor and working-class black Americans for the leaders' economic and political gain. At the heart of Inside the Nation is White's chronicle of his own sojourn during the 1980s and 1990s as a registered Muslim--from his days as a foot soldier in the Fruit of Islam, the Nation's military organization, through his rise to the status of minister and advisor to the leadership.

Included are White's dealings with such leaders as Louis Farrakhan, Akbar Muhammad, Khallid Muhammad, and Benjamin Chavis Muhammad and his involvement in such activities as the Million Man March. He focuses on the 1980s and 1990s, after Louis Farrakhan had split with Wallace D. Muhammad and the Nation's numbers had dwindled to fewer than 10,000 members. White, who is no longer a member, draws upon his experience as an internal analyst for Farrakhan to present the group's history and evolution. It's a fascinating, detailed account. University Press of Florida (2001), English, Hardcover: 288 pages.