Left Illusions: An Intellectual Odyssey

Horowitz, David, and Glazov, Jamie (Editor)

ISBN 10: 1890626511 / ISBN 13: 9781890626518

Published by Spence Publishing Company, 2003

"While most kids his age were outside playing baseball, young Horowitz was attending Communist rallies and parades. During the '60s Horowitz stayed true to his radical roots, becoming a prominent leader of the New Left. But when a close friend was murdered by the Black Panthers, Horowitz sank into a pit of personal and political despair. After a 10-year exile from politics, he finally came to grips with what he now saw as the inhumanity of his radical life and committed what was considered the greatest betrayal (he has been called a Nazi and a "demented lunatic"): he became a conservative. His latest book is a collection of articles, one published for the first time here, and some excerpts from previous books, tracing the scope of his political journey. He writes on race, AIDS and the war on terror, but saves most of his energy for what he views as the destructive force of the progressives, the harm wrought by Communists around the world as well as in America, a criticism all the more poignant coming from one who had once marched in their ranks. Horowitz demonstrates a clear and sound thought process as well as an unusual talent for good writing. Whatever one many think about Horowitz's more controversial views and tactics-such as his denunciation on campuses around the country of the slavery reparations movement-he is one of the best political writers on either side of the aisle". David Joel Horowitz (born January 10, 1939) is an American conservative writer. He is a founder and president of the think tank the David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC); editor of the Center's publication, FrontPage Magazine; and director of Discover the Networks, a website that tracks individuals and groups on the political Left. Horowitz also founded the organization Students for Academic Freedom. Horowitz wrote several books with author Peter Collier, including four on prominent 20th-century American political families that had members elected to the presidency. He and Collier have collaborated on books about cultural criticism. Horowitz worked as a columnist for Salon. From 1956 to 1975, Horowitz was an outspoken adherent of the New Left. He later rejected progressive ideas and became a defender of neoconservatism. Horowitz recounted his ideological journey in a series of retrospective books, culminating with his 1996 memoir Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey. Seller Inventory # SKU2010030254

Synopsis:

David Horowitz underwent the most dramatic political conversion since Whittaker Chambers. And at every stop of his intellectual journey, he has produced sparkling and provocative commentary. From his youthful days as a leader of the New Left in the 1960s to his current role as master strategist of the right, Horowitz’s polemical legacy is unmatched in wit and integrity.

Horowitz’s newest book, Left Illusions: An Intellectual Odyssey, provides the first map of his intellectual development. Complementing his acclaimed autobiography, Radical Son, the selections in Left Illusions range from his first book, published over forty years ago, to his most recent writings on the war against terror. The pieces include his polemics, journalism, and scholarship, along with select chapters from most of his books. Their subjects range from the origins of the New Left to the Cold War, from the fall of communism to political radicalism, race relations, the war on terror, the intellectual culture wars, and modern conservatism. Twenty-eight of the selections have not been published in book form or are contained in texts that are generally unavailable.

"I make no apologies for my present position," Horowitz writes. "My values have not changed, but my sense of what supports them and makes them possible has." He became profoundly disillusioned with the radical movement because of a tragedy both personal and political. The whole fascinating story is here for the reader to follow as it unfolded. Left Illusions is really the story of our times, lived out by an extraordinary individual.

About the Author: DAVID HOROWITZ is the author of Hating Whitey and Other Progressive Causes and The Art of Political War and Other Radical Pursuits, and How to Beat the Democrats and Other Subversive Ideas. One of America s most sought-after political strategists and commentators, Horowitz is the editor of FrontPage magazine and president of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture. He lives in Los Angeles.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Left Illusions: An Intellectual Odyssey
Publisher: Spence Publishing Company
Publication Date: 2003
Binding: Hard cover
Condition: As New
Dust Jacket Condition: Fine