Samuel T. Francis - Leviathan and Its Enemies: Mass Organization and Managerial Power in Twentieth-Century America

In reading this wonderfully brilliant book by my dear late friend and colleague Sam Francis, I am grateful that Washington Summit Publishers has provided a venue for a thorough exposition of Sams political philosophy. It is a thoughtful book that repays careful reading. I applaud the extraordinary efforts of Jerry Woodruff, Bill Regnery, Richard Spencer, F. Roger Devlin, and everyone involved in unearthing and publishing this manuscript of Sams. And I commend especially Paul Gottfried for his Afterword, which explains so well Sams thinking.

As Dr. Gottfried points out, this tome is far different than the fiery and spirited columns and editorials that Sam wrote. To add a light note to the heavy subject matter contained in this book, it is my pleasant task to tell you a little more about Sam details that are not in his standard biographical sketch.

I was a close friend of Sams for some 30 years. During that time, my organization, Griffin Internet Syndicate, was his syndicator (in between his stints with Tribune Media and Creators Syndicate). Also, I helped to arrange for the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation to publish the first posthumous collection of his work, Shots Fired: Sam Francis on Americas Culture War a collection of his columns, articles, and speeches.

I didnt know him when he was in high school, but even at that time, his writing ability had already been discovered. He won awards for poems and essays as a teenager. Later Sam became a serious scholar with two advanced degrees in modern British history. But alsoas his close friends knowhe had a mirthful, fun-loving disposition. He loved to turn a phrase, make us laugh, and crack jokes. He had a droll, caustic wit.

Despite the fact that he was an engaging lecturer, a great researcher, and would have made a wonderful professor, Sam wanted to do what he loved bestwrite. His non-scholarly writing was delightfully witty and refreshing. I would be hard-pressed to name anyone who came even close to being the lively, fun-loving, and enjoyable companion that Sam was. He was a good dancer, he loved movies and theatre, and he relished good conversation. He thrived on communicating his often scintillating thoughts and perceptions. Despite what many saw as a reserved exterior, Sam had a loving and compassionate side that I was privileged to see and experience. He was, to those close to him, tender-hearted, warm, and kind.

Joe Sobran, who suffered a similar fate of being ostracized for not following the party line of neoconservatives and their underlings, described Sam as Gruffly good-humored, at once cynical and jolly, he was outspoken and restrained at the same time. His mind was both searching and skeptical.

In the accompanying photograph, Sam and I stand with Joe Sobran on December 4, 2004, in one of the last times I saw him before his untimely death two months later. We are on a dock, ready to board the Dandy cruise ship for the annual Sobrans newsletter gathering. Sam would deliver a wonderful talk that day titled Unpatriotic Neoconservatives. I believe this was Sams last speech.

Sam was a genteel, cultured man of the South. He had a classical education, being schooled in both Latin and Greek. His heart was always partly in Chattanooga, where he grew up, and visiting there for his funeral I could see why. People in his home town are hospitable, kind, generous, warm, and very Southern, just like Sam himself.

May this book bring his unique and groundbreaking thoughts to the prominence they deserve.

February 2016