Book review: Not a Prison but a Fortress

Just finished reading Rolo Slavskiy book Not a Prison but a Fortress.

I quite liked it, especially for his penetrating observations of the current political system. Which btw go much ‘deeper’ than your usual right-wing pundit.

The first part of the book where he criticizes the liberal democracy feels very Evolian. Especially so since I just read the section on liberalism in Evola’s “Man Among the Ruins”. The similarities are not to be missed, but Rolo’s work is much more accessible than Evola’s. If you want to get familiar with this aspect, read Rolo’s book first (or only). You will understand Evola’s much better.

He then goes on to present his views of the system we (in the west) live in and has some very astute observations on offer. This that make you go ‘hmmm…’. I have not seen these observations described like this in other books, though I would make an argument that they are encapsulated in others works too. Just not as poised and to the point as in Rolo’s book. Again his formulation of these subjects is very good, very readable.

In the third part of the book he goes into the question of what to do. This part I thought is not quite as well expressed as the two earlier parts. It took a bit more concentration to stay focused. Still he scores some very good points here that more people on the right should be aware of. Pundits included (or especially).

Did I miss something? Yes. Rolo’s observational skills are very good, his explanations of the underlying causes harmonize with many older and more stately works. But he did not dive deeper still. Like for the level that Spengler or -more modern- “The Jolly Heretic” do. To be fair I do not fault him for that, given the excellent readability these (possible) deeper causes are clearly not part of the intended reach.

In summary: An excellent book that can jump-start any beginning right-winger. If you are already familiar with some literature, then his book will put things in a new perspective that in itself makes the current situation more understandable. If you are a crack in the subject matter, some of the very well formulated observations will make you appreciate his insight.

I unabashedly recommend this book.