A reader sends this very kind email along (emphasis mine):
Jonah:
Just finished reading Liberal Fascism (not literally just as in five minutes ago, but in the last couple of days), and it actually exceeded my rather high expectations. I would imagine that a person in your shoes has a very difficult job, in that you have to walk a fine line between sounding too academic for a mass audience but also not sounding academic enough to be taken seriously. You walked that line pretty well. You made your point convincingly, and you wound up with something that was less polemical than a fair number of the academic books I have read.
Speaking of academics, let me just say that I assure you that my dissertation will be the first dissertation to cite your book. My topic is along the lines of what you have written, and you’ve provided me with a good deal of fodder, particularly as it relates to the Progressive era. The works you’ve cited yourself would seem to present a tremendous wealth of information. So, as someone looking to wrap up their own monumental work soon, I thank you for this invaluable tool.
Me: Heh. I love this. Here’s what I propose, the author of the first dissertation — that passes muster at an accredited educational institution — to cite my book will win a special signed copy of the book and framed edition of the NR cover excerpt of the book. The one caveat is the mention cannot be along the lines of “and for a perfect example of outrageous rightwing propaganda see Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism…”