The Turner Diaries is a 1978 novel by William Luther Pierce, the founder and chairman of National Alliance, a white nationalist group, published under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald. It was initially syndicated in the National Alliance publication Attack! from 1975–1978 before being published in paperback form by the National Alliance's publishing arm National Vanguard Books in 1978. As of 2001, the book had sold an estimated 300,000 copies, initially only available through mail order from the National Alliance. The Turner Diaries was described as being "explicitly racist and anti-Semitic" by The New York Times.
It depicts a violent revolution in the United States, caused by a group called the Organization. The Organization's actions lead to the overthrow of the federal government, a nuclear war, and ultimately a race war which leads to the systematic extermination of non-whites and Jews worldwide. Whites viewed as "race traitors" are ultimately hanged in a mass execution called the "Day of the Rope". The novel utilizes a framing device, presenting the story as a historical diary of an average member, Earl Turner, with historical notes from a century after the novel's events.
The book has been influential in shaping white nationalism and the later development of the white genocide conspiracy theory. It has also inspired numerous hate crimes and acts of terrorism, including the 1984 assassination of Alan Berg, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and the 1999 London nail bombings. It is estimated to have influenced perpetrators in over 200 killings. The phrase the "Day of the Rope" has also become popular in far-right and white nationalist circles.