Description:This study of the John Birch Society was begun in February, 1961, but the major emphasis has been upon interviews (which included the use of a questionnaire) with leaders, members, and opponents of the Birch Society in Massachusetts, Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, Arizona, and California made in the Spring of 1962. Additional interviews have been conducted since then in Massachusetts, New York City, and Washington, D.C., to keep abreast of the changes within the Society. In these interviews, the author never sought to identify himself as a “convert” to the Birch Society, but always clearly identified himself as a graduate student doing re¬ search. In reporting these interviews, the names have been changed except for those who had been publicly identified as members of the John Birch Society at the time of the interview, or who were publicly affiliated with the Society at the time that this book went to press.