memoirs

I spent all weekend reading this book and could not put it down. The insights into the root causes of leftist illusions are fascinating, and are backed up by an awesome display of scholarly knowledge.
The book starts off slowly as it features some essays from Horowitz's past, but that really allows the plot to thicken in a sense, as the reader becomes engrossed in what amounts to a sort of ideological detective story as Horowitz investigates both his own motives and reasoning as well as that of his fellow leftists as he gradually frees himself from his enthrallment to Communism, then from Socialism, and finally from the left as a whole.
This is a must read for someone who is willing to look beneath the surface of politics to try and understand what makes the whole thing tick.

This new collection of 43 essays complements Horowitz's powerful 1996 memoir, Radical Son. Beginning with his early work, composed while he helped found the New Left during the 1960s, Horowitz (Hating Whitey) recounts his intellectual progression from leftist to conservative by the beginning of the Reagan administration. While Horowitz had intellectual reasons for his change, a powerful one was also personal. When a friend was murdered, allegedly by a member of the Black Panthers, the lack of concern his political allies seemed to display led Horowitz to question his beliefs. As with his other books, Horowitz explains his political shift plus his views on race, multiculturalism, political strategy, and the war on terrorism. Particularly interesting is the section containing chapters on Marx's Communist Manifesto, the environmental movement, and what constitutes the Left and Right in contemporary American politics. Horowitz of course continues his sparring with former colleagues on the Left. One does not need to agree with his political, social, or cultural views to appreciate his sharp intellectual and writing skills. Like another political convert, Whittaker Chambers, he is worth reading. Recommended for all politics collections.-

David's journey was a remarkable one. A full life that has brought him from the communist party to conservative activist. Although this book is more of a biography and life-story, the ideas he expoused decades ago are still important to him today. he just realized that the liberal ways of confronting problems usually do not work, and can make things worse, even though their intentions are good. For instance, conservatives have been labeled as uncaring of the poor and the 'welfare mothers' and demonized for wanting to take away their benefits when they pushed the Welfare Reform Act. However, with Bill Clinton's help, that Act has delivered the lowest rate of poverty in minority single-parent homes since Welfare was initiated -- even during this latest recession. David has realized that conservatives did not 'hate' the poor, but knew that Welfare was a trap to keep them poor and keep voting Democratic. Once he realized this as well as other political beliefs, he realized that conservatives do care as much about these things as liberals do; they just disagree on how to fix them. A very interesting read, more than just a reaffirmation of the conservative's ideals.