Joe Mulhall knows what it’s like to stare fascism in the face. For a decade, often undercover at significant personal risk, he has investigated hate groups. He infiltrated a US white supremacist militia, set up a fake Ku Klux Klan branch, has been on countless street marches with violent far-right groups across Europe, and got inside some of the most important ‘alt-right’ meetings ever held. Brazil, India and the US are still in thrall to authoritarian populism, and far-right views have become steadily normalised in mainstream politics. Mulhall’s dramatic experiences on the front line of anti-fascist activism, coupled with his academic research, clearly explain the roots of both elected and non-elected far-right movements across the globe. Above all, he concludes, the far right should not be dehumanised – they are normal people, but with dangerous beliefs that can be defeated.