Conservatism Books - Page 14

War Crimes: The Left's Campaign to Destroy Our Military and Lose the War on Terror

Robert "Buzz" Patterson

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Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This blistering indictment of the American Left lays bare the well-coordinated and well-financed campaign against our nation’s armed forces.

“Brilliant . . . Buzz takes on the enemy we are compelled to confront here at home, and he does so in the manner of all good combat veterans–no b.s., name by name, and driving headlong into the ambush."
—General Thomas G. McInerney, Fox News military

“To demonstrate the real-world consequences of those working to undermine U.S. efforts. . . [Patterson] went to the front lines to interview about 300 troops.”
—Philadelphia Inquirer

“Patterson doesn’t mince words.”
—Washington Times

“Nearly everyone claims to ‘support the troops,’ but War Crimes identifies the who, what, why, and how of those who, instead, actively undermine the mission our nation called our troops to do. . . Way to go, Colonel.”—Major Eric Egland (Air Force Reserve), author of The Troops Need You, America

The March of Freedom: Modern Classics in Conservative Thought

Edwin J. Feulner

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Book Conservatives Should Read 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

If you think you know the difference between the modern liberal and the modern conservative, but are not familiar with the writings of the twelve writers collected in this volume, you probably DON'T. These are carefully written, carefully reasoned discussions about statesmanship, economics, politics, and personal attitudes, by "liberals turned conservative", "liberals partly turned conservative", and "long-time but open-minded conservatives" (with the possible exception of William F. Buckley who is Mr Conservative). The introductions to each selection by Edwin Feulner provide a short historical background for each author that is extremely interesting in its own right. This is not a book by "whining" conservatives decrying the existence of "whining" liberals, but a sampling of conservative thought frequently modified by liberal inclinations in certain areas that allow one to assess and evaluate the arguments of conservatism at its best.

Editorial Review:

Excerpts from writings by twelve of those leading conservative voices, including Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley, Jr., and Ronald Reagan.

Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right.

Lisa McGirr

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Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the early 1960s, American conservatives seemed to have fallen on hard times. McCarthyism was on the run, and movements on the political left were grabbing headlines. The media lampooned John Birchers's accusations that Dwight Eisenhower was a communist puppet. Mainstream America snickered at warnings by California Congressman James B. Utt that "barefooted Africans" were training in Georgia to help the United Nations take over the country. Yet, in Utt's home district of Orange County, thousands of middle-class suburbanites proceeded to organize a powerful conservative movement that would land Ronald Reagan in the White House and redefine the spectrum of acceptable politics into the next century.

Suburban Warriors introduces us to these people: women hosting coffee klatches for Barry Goldwater in their tract houses; members of anticommunist reading groups organizing against sex education; pro-life Democrats gradually drawn into conservative circles; and new arrivals finding work in defense companies and a sense of community in Orange County's mushrooming evangelical churches. We learn what motivated them and how they interpreted their political activity. Lisa McGirr shows that their movement was not one of marginal people suffering from status anxiety, but rather one formed by successful entrepreneurial types with modern lifestyles and bright futures. She describes how these suburban pioneers created new political and social philosophies anchored in a fusion of Christian fundamentalism, xenophobic nationalism, and western libertarianism.

While introducing these rank-and-file activists, McGirr chronicles Orange County's rise from "nut country" to political vanguard. Through this history, she traces the evolution of the New Right from a virulent anticommunist, anti-establishment fringe to a broad national movement nourished by evangelical Protestantism. Her original contribution to the social history of politics broadens--and often upsets--our understanding of the deep and tenacious roots of popular conservatism in America.

Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education

Neal P. McCluskey

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Feds in the Classroom 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This is an excellent book that describes, in depth, how the government is corrupting the school system. Very fascinating!

Easier said than done 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute does a fine job of tracing the history of the federal role in education, culminating in No Child Left Behind (NCLB). There has been a huge increase in federal funding for education over the years, without higher test scores or other demonstrably positive results. Ergo, taxpayers are not getting their money's worth.

From a political standpoint, our national leaders find it expedient to support federal funding for education as a means of evincing concern for children, etc. The National Education Association (teachers' union) is pleased so long as the strings on the funding are not unduly onerous, and the general public is not paying attention to the details.

When the NCLB bill (a 600-page document) was signed into law, reports McCluskey, the president who had backed it to the hilt made a telling comment. "I haven't read it yet. You'll be happy to hear I don't intend to."

Maybe he should have read the bill. While fewer schools may be falling below standards now, the states set the standards and in many cases have relaxed them to avoid unfavorable results. Far from ending the "bigotry of low expectations," NCLB may be contributing to a dumbing down of U.S. education. Also, there have been endless complaints that NCLB is an "unfunded mandate" and more federal money is needed.

The book goes on to say the federal government lacks power to spend money for support of education (except for Washington, D.C. and Army schools) under the Constitution, wherefore the U.S. Supreme Court went astray in 1937 (in the face of FDR's court packing threat) and should reverse course. News flash, this is not going to happen, nor do I think it should. The Constitution authorizes Congress to "provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States," which arguably includes education, and it is traditional (and wise) to show deference for prior decisions.

McCluskey also suggests getting the "Feds" out of the classroom by political means. This seems like a good idea, and if a school voucher system would help in building support then full speed ahead. It might be more feasible, however, to simply cut off federal funding and restore the primacy of states and school districts.

Assessment: the analysis is philosophically sound, but the strategy for change falls short.

Editorial Review:

The federal government is deeply entrenched in American public education and virtually dictates what can be taught to students. Why? At what cost? And what are the benefits to public school students? To public schools? The author challenges the constitutionality of the feds in the classroom and reminds readers that public education has, until recently, been the function of state and local governments.

Lenin's Private War: The Voyage of the Philosophy Steamer and the Exile of the Intelligentsia

Lesley Chamberlain

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Russia In Exile 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 14 people found this review helpful.

A book that helps one better understand the havoc created among the Russian intelligentsia by the Bolsheviks after the overthrow of the czar.

Ms. Chamberlain traces the expulsion by Lenin of some of the best thinkers in Russia and uses their often sorry fates (many go to Berlin or Prague, in short time to become victims of Hitler) to help explain the various strands of philosophical thinking that were such a threat to the world view of the new autocrat, the Communist Party.

It is clear to the author that Stalin was a product of Lenin's thinking, not an aberration.

Readers, who make the effort, will learn much that will help them understand the deep divisions within present day Russia. Conflicting views on the essence (spiritual and political) of Russia, that were present in the early 1920s and long before, have reemerged since the thankful crash in the 1980s of Lenin's deadly party.

Editorial Review:

In 1922, Vladimir Lenin personally drew up a list of some 160 "undesirable" intellectuals--mostly philosophers, academics, scientists, and journalists--to be deported from the new Soviet State. "We're going to cleanse Russia once and for all" he wrote to Stalin, whose job it was to oversee the deportation. Two ships sailed from Petrograd that autumn, taking Old Russia's eminent men and their families away to what would become permanent exile in Berlin, Prague, and Paris. Through journals, letters, memoirs, and personal accounts, Lesley Chamberlain creates a rich portrait of these banished thinkers and their families. She describes the world they left behind, the émigré communities they were forced to join, and the enduring power of the works they produced in exile.

Invasion of the Party Snatchers

Victor Gold

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Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Victor Gold wants his party back.

Gold is the former press aide to Barry Goldwater and the former speechwriter and senior advisor for George H. W. Bush. He is incensed that the Neo-Cons and the Evangelical Right have betrayed the ideals of the conservative cause. Now he’s fighting back.

A Republican insider for 40 years, Gold is ready to tell all about the war being waged for the GOP’s soul, the elder Bush’s opinion of his son’s presidency, the significance of the Democratic resurgence, and how Goldwater would have reacted to it all.

Among Gold’s explosive disclosures is the truth about Cheney’s manipulation of George W., and the chilling, puppet-like role of the President amongst Neo- and Theo-Conservatives.

“Entertaining, provocative . . . Mr. Gold is on to something.”
-The Washington Times

“For those disillusioned with the state of the GOP, this quick, uncompromising polemic provides substantial support, along with a large dose of cold comfort.”
-Publishers Weekly

“Like his political mentor Barry Goldwater, Gold pulls no verbal punches in telling the story of how the Bush–Cheney White House has made a mockery of the conservative values it claims to uphold.”
-Frank Mankiewicz, former press secretary to Robert Kennedy and George McGovern’s campaign manager

“Victor Gold unleashes a bitter yet comic blend of ferocity and ridicule at the neo-conservatives and theocrats who have taken over his party.”
-Jules Witcover

Compassionate Conservatism: What it is, What it Does, and How it Can Transform America

Marvin Olasky

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Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

If 2000 Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush has a catchphrase, it's "compassionate conservatism." But like so many political slogans, this term can mean very different things. Marvin Olasky--author of The Tragedy of American Compassion and an advisor to Bush--seeks to describe what he believes it is. And he must be onto something, for, as Bush writes in a brief introduction, "This book clearly summarizes the principles of compassionate conservatism." Here's the nub: "Poverty around the world is a spiritual as well as a material problem: most poor people don't have the faith that they and their situations can change.... Economic redistribution by itself cannot fight poverty effectively because it does not affect the attitudes that frequently undergird poverty." To put it more bluntly, religious faith should play a greater role in public life, especially when it comes to delivering social services to the deprived:

The major flaw of the modern welfare state is not that it is extravagant, but that it is too stingy. It gives the needy bread and tells them to be content with that alone. It gives the rest of us the opportunity to be stingy also, and to salve our consciences even as we scrimp on what many of the destitute need most--love, time, and a challenge to be "little lower than the angels" rather than one thumb up from monkeys.

The bulk of the book is given to descriptions of Olasky's travels around the country with his 10-year-old son, visiting faith-based organizations in some of America's toughest neighborhoods. These vignettes, told in the first person, recall feel-good Reader's Digest stories about ordinary men and women accomplishing extraordinary things in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. Parts of the book read like a Bush campaign speech--indeed, one of the appendices is a Bush campaign speech--and Olasky goes out of his way to take a few swipes at Vice President Al Gore. If readers want to get a sense of what a Bush administration might try to accomplish, at least on the domestic front, Compassionate Conservatism is a great place to start--and miles ahead of Bush's own dull campaign biography A Charge to Keep. --John J. Miller

Conservatives Without Conscience

John W. Dean

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Total reviews: 167 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Moderate Voice of Reason - FINALLY 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Being a moderate in the USA today is not easy during an election year, we need to constantly hear the sniping on both sides. I was trying to find some information about what happened to conservatives to make them so angry and mean spirited. John Dean provides part of that answer. Their movement was high jacked by authoritarians that pretend to be conservatives. As someone that voted for and supported both Reagan and Clinton, I find our polarization troubling to say the least, to find someone that explains why and how it happened is a relief.

John Dean comes at the issue in a reasoned and dispassionate way that allows the reader to make up their own mind. This is a great change from so many political books today that pummel the reader as though they are too stupid to make up their own mind about complex issues.

Whether you are blue or red, right or left, read this book, share this book, tell people about the main idea of this book. Conservatives are not bad, authoritarians are bad. We do not need to live in fear of liberals, terrorists or foreigners, we need only fear and control the real danger - that we turn over our great democracy to the hypocritical liars that pretend to be conservatives. This book makes sense of today's corrupt and sad political situation. We can save our great republic, but we need to understand the real danger and John Dean lays it out perfectly.

Editorial Review:

In Conservatives Without Conscience, John Dean, who served as White House counsel under Richard Nixon and then helped to break the Watergate scandal with his testimony before the Senate, takes a vivid and analytical look at a Republican Party that has changed drastically from the conservative movement that he joined in the mid-1960s as an admirer of Senator Barry Goldwater. Listen to our interview with Dean as part of our July 13 Amazon Wire podcast (along with interviews with Garrison Keillor and Henry Rollins) to hear how he originally conceived of the book with the late Senator Goldwater, and the social science research he drew on to put together his portrait of the "conservative authoritarian." (You can subscribe to regular Wire podcasts here.) And take a look at Dean's choices for the best books to read on the American presidency in our Grownup School feature.

Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism

William A. Link

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In Righteous Warrior, William A. Link provides a magisterial portrait of Senator Jesse Helms, one of the most commanding American politicians of the late twentieth century, and of the conservative movement he forged. Born in Monroe, North Carolina, in his early years Helms worked as a newspaperman, a radio commentator and a magazine editor. Early on, he realized the power of television, and, on tiny black and white screens across North Carolina in the 1960s, he battled the civil rights movement, campus radicalism, and the sexual revolution. Race was a central issue for Helms, and he used it at every turn to solidify his base and, in some cases, to mobilize political support. But also important was sexuality, and his discomfort with what he believed was a rising tide of immorality. In 1973, he was elected to the Senate, where he remained until 2003. As Senator, Helms became a national conservative leader and spokesman for the revitalized American Right, playing a prominent role in the Reagan Revolution of the 1970s and 1980s and the rising tide of Republicanism of the 1990s. His political organization, the Congressional Club, became remarkably successful at raising millions of dollars and in operating a highly sophisticated, media-driven political machine. The Congressional Club also provided a source of national standing and power for Helms. In working so relentlessly for his cause, Helms literally became a nexus of the burgeoning movement, pushing conservative causes, linking conservative politicians up with wealthy donors and amassing more power than many Senators within memory. In Righteous Warrior, William Link tells the story of one of the most powerful Americans of the twentieth century and the conservative mark he left on the American political landscape.

Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Max Weber

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Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism represents the starting point in Weber's studies of religion and demonstrates the role played in the development of modern capitalism by Protestant (and particularly Calvinist) ethics. At the same time it does much more, and students new to Weber who are seeking an understanding of the continuing contribution made by this book to current debates on the origins of capitalism, on economic determinism, on methodology, and on the future of contemporary industrial culture, will welcome the introduction written by Anthony Giddens. Giddens analyses the background within which the book was written, summarises its main themes and connects them to broader aspects of Weber's studies in history and sociology. In addition, he provides a concise account of the protracted debate to which The Protestant Ethic has given rise, concluding with an assessment of how far Weber's ideas has withstood the critical battering to which they have been subjected for over seventy years.