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Summary: Good account of the "Left"overs!
Review: David Horowitz gives the reader (especially those of us who've had little contact with the leftist side) an account of how someone overcomes the falsity and lies that the left champions. He clears up the sixties myth about how the left were always JFK supporters and then goes on to explain how his political journey led him to the right wing/libertarian side. It's interesting to note that as Mr. Horowitz aged and struggled in his personal relationships he seems to have found more than just a new political belief for himself. As most people would say: "He finally grew up!" I believe Mr. Horowitz began to see what the American dream is really about. It's not about how the government can continue to grow and redistribute our wealth but how we as Americans have a calling for individual responsibility in spite of our mistakes. This is one of the most interesting political memoirs of our time, and a timely writing at the close of the century that has seen the effects of the Left and all that it has destroyed. I highly recommend this book for those who wish to see exactly what the Left is made of and how the Right wingers are really Right!
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Summary: Communist in America
Review: Radical Son is very engaging as a story and has a majestic sweep similar to War and Peace with its emphasis on the generations of a family and its insights into their hopes and trials as well as the emotions, thoughts, and actions of Horowitz himself. Horowitz is good at pointing out the hypocrisies and warped mind set of the left particularly in their viewpoint that dangerous criminals are really just primitive rebels who are rebelling against the system, man. It is also sort of funny in a sick sort of way, showing how crazy California can be, with its wacko film industry types and Berkeley politicos...
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Summary: Horror-witz does it again.
Review: A Radical Neo-Conservative born of a Radical Son. Whether you love or hate David Horowitz, we all must agree he sure loves attention and controvesy. Whether he's joining the Black Panthers, citing Marx or joining the racists in trying to abolish affirmitive action and reparations. Radical Son only makes one thing clear: Horror-witz is a attention-loving Radical whose views, no matter on what side of aisle, are always controversial and inflammatory. They seek to enrage or strike great passion in people thus creating a steady market of people that love or hate him and will be good for publicity and for buying more books. This book, however, like all of his radical left wing or reactionary right wing stances, are all a waste of time.
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Summary: Journey from Left to Right
Review: Horowitz's biography takes you through the life of a man's intellectual journey from Communist radical (with ties to the Black Panthers) to conservative rabble-rouser. It's full of self-reflection, both intellectual as well as personal. Horowitz's tale can easily be compared with Whittaker Chambers' Witness.
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Summary: Read this book to understand what the left is like
Review: You'll love this book of personal odyssey. You'll gain some understanding of the old left and new left. You'll know the Panthers. Above all, you'll get to know David Horowitz. This is a story that will touch you deeply.
Rating: 
Summary: A Look at the New Left
Review: David Horowitz is now known for his scathing attacks on Leftists and Liberals. This was not always so, as Horowitz was once a rabid Communist and agitator. He wrote the screed "Students" that became a handbook for Leftist activists who tore this country down in the 1960's. Horowitz eventually discovered sanity and became fairly conservative in his outlook. This book, his autobiography, shows this evolution as it occurred against the backdrop of his childhood, political activities in the 60's, and his work with the Black Panther Party.Horowitz spends much time showing how his childhood led him into the Communist folds. Both of his parents were Communists of the card carrying type. They quickly indoctrinated young David into their evil ways. Horowitz even attended a school for children of Marxists! Horowitz shows how disillusionment began to set in even at this young age. The murderous regime of Stalin and the subsequent repudiation by Khrushchev seriously undermined American Marxism, as did the McCarthy hearings of the 1950's. But Horowitz also shows how the very system that his parents hated eventually helped them gain redress for being cast out of their jobs due to their Communist sympathies. His parents never seemed to realize that the system and country that they hated paid their salaries and provided their comforts. The best part of the book is when Horowitz goes off to college and hooks up with those wacky New Left Commies. Horowitz quickly makes friends with characters such as Bob Scheer, who later ran the magazine Ramparts, and who was a lover of such diverse Communist statesmen as Kim Il Sung of North Korea and Chairman Mao of the murderous Chinese Communist Party. We also get a look at Tom Hayden, Jane Fonda's hubby and a sort of agent provocateur of the Chicago riots at the Democratic National Convention in 1968. Horowitz took part in demonstrations, but his main role was one of ideologue. He wrote the tracts that moved 'em out into the streets. In other words, Horowitz showed people where the bricks were located, and which ones to pick up and throw. We quickly find our man Horowitz at Ramparts, the aforementioned journal run by Mr. Scheer. Ramparts was a slick, glossy Communist magazine that ran stories on such all-American kids as the Black Panther Party. Horowitz acted as book reviewer and watched the hijinks unfold. It was interesting to note that one of the people who wrote articles for the magazine was none other then Brit Hume, who can be seen working the political beat on the FOX news cable channel. Who knew Hume was a closet Communist? This might be a bit of a let down for some of the reviewers here at Amazon.com who say that Fox is a Republican-slanted news outlet. But this is how the book is. Horowitz names names. Eventually, with the end of the Vietnam connflict, most of the New Left movement faded into obscurity, but the individuals involved held on to their belief systems. In the 1970's, Horowitz began his affliation with the Black Panther's. A group of murderous thugs who ran drug and prostitution rings while paying lip service to Marxist rhetoric, the Panthers, under the aegis of Huey Newton, quickly suckered white leftists into supporting their mumbo-jumbo. The Left saw Newton and the Panthers as a militant vanguard that would throw out the old system and usher in a Marxist America. Horowitz was one of these suckers. He helped them raise funds for a school and provided moral support and advice to Newton. He even supplied labor for the group. One of these people was Betty Van Patter, a white woman who went to work balancing the books for the Panthers. She must have seen something she shouldn't have, though, because the Panthers caved her skull in and tossed her into the ocean. Horowitz was devastated and this event led him on his long journey away from the Left and into the Right. Throughout the book Horowitz examines his family relations and marriages. He writes about his father, who was a distant man that rarely gave David the support he so craved. His mother was a strong woman who ran the household and provided support to David when he needed it. His marriage to first wife Elissa is examined in great detail. They eventually divorced when Horowitz cheated on her with other women. This book is great when it exposes the New Left for what it really is; a shallow, dangerous force that has done more to tear this country apart then any other force in history. Some of the personal reflections are pretty good, too. There are troubling passages, though. When David first sees Elissa, he talks about how she had magnificent breasts, and he describes how he wanted to rub his face in them. This statement is pretty jarring and really doesn't belong in this book, in my opinion. Still, the book is not bad. It also has a happy ending, with a Commie rejecting the error of his ways and coming back to sanity. A Hallmark movie of the week if I ever saw one! Give it a shot.
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Summary: Left does not equal Right
Review: People have dismissed this book because it appears that the flaming socialist reformer David Horowitz has simply done a 180 and now vents from right to left. However, on page 430 of the paperback, Horowitz explains rather clearly how his ideology changed. He had the courage to actually get to know some conservatives and: "Over time, their tolerance [that's right folks, Horowitz is saying that conservatives are tolerant] became intelligible to me. What made one a conservative was recognition of the human capacity for evil, or for just plain screwing up. That was why the rules were important. Not because they expected nobody to break them. But because having rules that were respected made it harder for people to do so. This was a more subtle --- but in the long run more trustworthy --- form of compassion than liberals' softness of heart." Here's another passage, from the final paragraph of the book: "What radicals wanted was to be midwives to a world that was different from the one in which they were going to die. To be present at the creation and, in that way, forever young. It was time to grow up. ..." If radicals were just living in a dream world, that wouldn't be so bad. But as Horowitz relates from experience, they take it really hard if you leave the fold. As much as he had vilified the "establishment" in his days at Ramparts magazine, it was not until Horowitz published a story about the violence of leftist radicals that he ever received any threats on his life. Oh yes, left-leaners make a big deal out of Horowitz's three divorces. Why? I guess because in their weird formula it makes things even. That way, a leftist radical can throw a trashcan through a window at McDonald's and say Hey, what about Horowitz's three divorces, huh? But leftist radicals only read books that no one else can understand, so they won't read this one. The prose is too fluid and real.
Rating: 
Summary: From Left to Right.........
Review: This book chronicles the life of David Horowitz, the 60's radical who worked for Ramparts and the Black Panthers. Horowitz explains in great detail about the New Left movement during the height of the Vietnam War and it's eventual decline. Only, after a series of devastating incidents, does Horowitz come the conclusion that the New Left movement is flawed and self serving. Gradually Horowitz does a complete turn and becomes a conservative and today, is a vocal critic of the left. Radical Son is an honest look into a radical's life and his gradual change into a conservative politics.
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Summary: Spellbound
Review: This is the first book that I've read in nearly a decade. Although the first 100 pages were long and tedious they're necessary so that the reader can understand David's beginnings. The remainder of this book left me absolutely spellbound. I couldn't put it down. While reading the last half of it the beginning chapters came back in flashback form and became more interesting as I passed through each page slowly digesting every word until the very end. The timeline, the sixties - seventies - eighties, were the time when I grew into adulthood and it also came back to memory while reading the book and left me both fascinated and astonished. I was a conservative that took my citizenship for granted until I read David's Autobiography. Now I stand up for what I believe in and I don't allow ANYONE to tell me how I should think. In essence, I am the Lamb that became a Lion. Thank you David for showing me the light at the end of the tunnel, instead of the tunnel at the end of the light.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening book, but something was missing.
Review: Speaking from the vantage point of someone that considers himself a subcriber to the ideals of the left, I would suggest this book to anyone/anywhere on the political spectrum. It's important to constantly examine, and re-examine one's strongest convictions. A reading of this book takes you into the mindset of someone who made mistakes as result of his idealism--and ended up fleeing to the other end of the political spectrum in retreat. I could identify with much of what Horowitz says in this book--and although I am completely opposed to the rubbish he espouses today--I must admit...he has written a compelling memoir here. It's an important book for any leftist to read. Important, so that we don't repeat his mistakes, and the mistakes of his leftist comrades. We need a new vision, otherwise we'll just end up running circles--like Horowitz. Oh yeah, don't buy this book--check it out at the library. God forbid your money end up supporting one of of Horowitz' wacky right wing ventures.
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