The Family Book

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I could have done with more dialogue and some good excitement in there and I think, it could have peaked my interest more. I would not read this to children, even though the message is sweet (understanding of differences and the positive attributes of families), because of issues with racism. Sharlet writes, “America has been infused with religion since the day in 1630 when the Puritan John Winthrop, preparing to cross the Atlantic to found the Massachussetts Bay Colony, declared the New World the “city upon a hill” spoken of by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. (p. 2)” Scobie’s first book, Finding Freedom, co-written by Carolyn Durand, made sweeping personal revelations about the Sussexes’ private lives. Also incredibly unrealistic, Saul would not have been given the Colicchico surname and welcomed into the family after getting Sophia pregnant. They would have just killed him. On top of that, later on, Joey essentially hands over his entire operation to Saul. ON WHAT PLANET? As sharp as Saul is, he is still of Jewish descent, which by mafia standards means he could not go past a certain rank. But since we don't know if Joey was a capo or not, we don't know what position Saul actually held.

Disillusioned by his experience in the political arena with Bush and his fellow elite fundamentalists (Bush, by the way, is a member of the Family, as if there was ever any question), Kuo quit his position after Bush’s first term. Kuo writes, “We were good people forced to run a sad charade, to provide political cover to a White House that needed compassion and religion as political tools. (p. 383)”What’s almost more interesting about the Fellowship are the elements that Moss notes but doesn’t dig into. This is a group that sees privilege as potential, whiteness as power, masculinity as proof of leadership prospects. In the first episode, Sharlet describes how Ivanwald had an equivalent arm for women, Potomac Point, but while the young men were being groomed for future authority, the women were being “mentored in service” and directed toward future relationships with Ivanwald members. The Family similarly hints at the extent to which the Fellowship identifies whiteness as a pivotal component of God’s chosen agents. One member, former Representative Zach Wamp of Tennessee, says on camera that the group needs to diversify. And yet Russia remains idealized by both the religious right and white nationalists, presumably not just for its supposedly muscular leadership and “traditional values.” Scobie said that reconciliation would only be possible if the brothers could shed their anger and jealousy.

But what happened to the Fellowship? The Family, a five-part documentary series by Jesse Moss that debuted on Netflix earlier this month, makes the case that this shadowy religious organization best known for the moral incontinence of some of its members is actually one of the most nefarious operations in American politics. Based in large part on the 2008 book of the same name by Jeff Sharlet, The Family draws a through line from the Fellowship to President Donald Trump, casting the latter as a crucial component in the Fellowship’s quest for global domination. Members of Congress, Moss and Sharlet argue, are secretly lobbying for an invisible organization that’s been “hiding in plain sight” for the past eight decades. The Fellowship, Sharlet says in one scene, is “the darkest expression of religious life that I’ve found in 20 years.” (It’s hard to hear this quote and not immediately think about a few other potential contenders.) The book claims that the Prince of Wales is impatient to become king. “The Prince of Wales can’t wait to ascend the throne,” he says.

In fact, THE FAMILY itself is an irresponsibly written book, one of those books whose good qualities--its reporting of ordinary day to day facts that create the appearance of a vivid atmosphere, Sharlet's fluent prose, his catchy chapter titles, and so on--all serve a negative purpose, creating unfounded fear and exacerbating the already-excessive divisions in American social and political life today. Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio via NetGalley for giving me the chance of listening to The Family by Naomi Krupitsky, Narrated by Marin Ireland, I have given my honest review. Scobie suggests it was William who was able to convince his grandmother, Elizabeth II, to punish her “favourite son”, while Charles could not bring himself to hurt his brother. It is all deeply disturbing, esp. since Coe's supporters include many prominent Republican and some Democratic politicians. So I settled in for a good read on a vital current issue, ready to start writing cheques to the Anti-Defamation League and any other organisations I could identify, once I had finished the book, that might be on the front lines of stopping this scourge in American political life.