Rating: 
Summary: Comfort in uncomfortable times
Review: In HIAJTVRWCAFIP, Harry Stein has managed to create a book which reads like a long-time friend baring his soul and talking about his deepest beliefs. This book is helpful for anyone making the transition from liberal to conservative, for any conservative surrounded by liberals and should be mandatory for liberals who call conservatives racist, homophobic, fascist or mean-spirited. As Mr. Stein points out, political bias is overwhelming in certain areas of our society. We need to be able to hear one another's viewpoints and debate them without demonizing the holder. His is a cogent explanation of why he believes what he does, and generally a cogent and sympathetic explanation of liberal beliefs. The only area in which he fails in abortion. This is quite clearly because of personal guilt. He says he would be a hypocrite to oppose abortion, but anyone has the right to learn from past mistakes and change his mind. The hypocrite is the one who makes a public show of a belief which he has no intention of following in private. This book is full of laughs and wry moments. Having just read it for the third time, I found it just as fresh and enjoyable as before. Buy it today or at the least, put it on your wish list.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshingly thoughtful, not hateful
Review: Despite whatever extreme viewpoints seen in reviews here or elsewhere, Stein's central theme is not liberal-bashing (he still remains liberal in a number of ways), his main point is that the dominance of liberal thought in the media has resulted in stifling of competing viewpoints and has done a great disservice to political discourse in this country. He shows how this pattern of squelching of free speech has taken place over time by various interest groups, and the absurd directions our society's mores and standards of acceptable behavior have taken. While many on the extreme left of the political spectrum will denounce Stein, most people who still have the ability to think critically will find the book refreshing, and will probably find that their own deep-down personal feelings are well represented here. Who knows, you may realize that you too are part of the VRWC.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so fine Stein
Review: The first thing I noticed about Stein's book "How I Joined the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" was that it really doesn't tell how he "Joined the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy." Instead this seeming biography of Stein explores Stein's own views on pressing issues in America. Not really careing if you're going to agree with him or not, Stein explores gay rights to feminism by stating bold opinions but not useing sufficient evidence to back them up. Regarding gay rights, Stein states that AIDS is primarily a "gay disease" and that homosexual marriages don't serve to provide the same type of nuturing enviroment for children that heterosexual ones do. Stein also points out that gay's should be kept from certain positions, useing the following statement to justify not allowing gays to be Scout masters: "Who would even think of putting a strait man in charge of supervising overnights for a Girl Scout troupe?" Stein also attacks (ahem..explores) feminism, insisting that woman's rights are not longer an issue in this country, and that feminism is a product of an army of ideologues tirelessly laboring to impose their own narrow, joyless version of how things out to be on all of us." Additionally, Stein lodges a vast complaint against the way American history is taught in the schools, insisting that it teaches kids to despise thier country. Stein has ideas that he wants to get out, but he never suceeds in doing more than that. Without ever providing substanial evidence, Stein manipulates statistics without preventing the reader from seeing that he's doing it. An attempt to write something that's light and witty, Stein lowers his own intelligence level by not bothering to logically defend the arguements he presents to the reader.
Rating: 
Summary: I learned something from this book
Review: I have read a fair amount of contempoary conservative literature so an author does a great job when he/she teaches me something new. I have read books about political correctness on the campus ("Illiberal Education") and books on gender politics such as "Who Stole Feminism." I have often heard about the thought police on the campus but guess what? I never saw a discussion of which colleges and universities still foster free and open discussion. Stein, in his treatment of the issue of campus thoought control goes a step further than most authors in that after identifying some of the politically correct schools,he identifies some which swim against the tide and actually encourage open discussion and respect for tradition. Not surprisingly, University of Chicago rates highly in this regard. More surprisingly, Berkeley also gets high marks. Stein is some what hampered by his own personal baggage. As the title implies, he is a former liberal who has changed. However, he has past issues to deal with. For example, both his wife and a former girlfriend have had abortions after he got them preganant so he discusses the issue while at the same time seeking to avoid being a hypocrite. It seems he wants to be pro life but can't be, so he discusses his new found respect for pro life activists while professing to remain pro choice. All in all, I enjoyed the book, It is not one of the classics of conservative literature but I believe it's worth reading for its worthwhile insights.
Rating:
Summary: An Objective Political Assessment........Really
Review: Journalist and former radical liberal, Harry Stein, puts together a fine account of how life experiences changed his views and turned him into a conservative. Mr. Stein presents his beliefs with compelling evidence that would be difficult to argue against regardless of which side of the political spectrum you are on. Below is a brief list of topics he touches on: 1. Honor: Why has this become meaningless? Why do so many liberals view a man that cheats on his wife as someone who is just, "trying to find himself?" 2. The Media: How did it become so biased toward the left? Insider, Harry Stein, will tell you. 3. "Blame the Victim": A phrase directed at conservatives by liberals. But in certain instances, such as sexual promiscuity leading to STD's, are all "victims" 100% innocent? What about personal responsibility? 4. Sexgate: The Clinton scandal. Initially most liberals were outraged. But soon the liberal press made statements such as, "it's just between Hillary and Bill," or "let's just censure the guy and move on," and even "everybody does it." Do we no longer expect our President to set moral standards? 5. Feminism: Who doesn't support equal opportunity, a level playing field, and equal pay for equal work? But did the pendulum swing too far? 6. Higher Education: What ever happened to our colleges and universities mission to preserve and defend the essential truths of the past while providing a safe haven for open debate? How can we have open debate when we must be politically correct? Why do we now have "speech codes" designed to mute talk deemed insensitive? 7. Minority Conservatives: Why are these people so viciously attacked? Why is Clarence Thomas belittled for asserting his right to think for himself and refusing to have his ideas assigned to him because he is black? Is Colin Powel a trader to his race? What Stein does surprisingly well is that he leaves out the bitterness and condescending attitude that most political authors draw on. He is actually quite complimentary toward many democrats, never insulting the person, only challenging the notion. This would be a terrific read for the conservative democrat, liberal republican, or anyone else who teeters with his or her own convictions.
Rating:
Summary: Right-wing? Hardly. Entertaining? Yes.
Review: HIAJTVRWC is a relatively entertaining and thankfully somewhat short tome describing Harry Stein's transition from an Upper-West side liberal to a normal person. Right-wing? Hardly. Stein begins with the obligatory litany of liberal credentials which for most people would be called "youthful foolishness." Everything changes when Harry and wife conceive at which time they notice that all their selfish liberal friends are well, selfish liberals. One of the first shots across Stein's liberal bow is noticing that children kinda need parents and it is absurd to assert that they would be "better off" in day-care than at home. Unfortunately, being a liberal there is no one within 10 square miles that would agree with his assessment. The final brick in Stein's transformation is of course the whole Bill Clinton impeachment controversy. Like most people Stein cannot figure out why anyone would defend Clinton's behavior. Sure, I can see where some might say it was not impeachable, but Stein's friends were actually defending the man (Gore made the same mistake and I still think that is what cost him the election). As an actual member of the VRWC I did enjoy Stein's awakening and found it really cute that he considers himself a "right-winger", unfortunately by his definition of "right-winger" about 75% of American's are too. Of course, after writing this book he has probably been kicked even further to the right by his liberal friends and neighbors, so maybe there is hope for him yet.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: A pleasure to read (Stein was a columnist for Esquire), this book is a combination of life story and social reflection. He is hardly a Moral Majoritarian. The pages demonstrate the common-sense behind a lot of conservative ideas, and the decency of the guy writing. I especially liked the dedication.
Rating:
Summary: A long day's journey into Right
Review: There's an aphorism, often attributed (probably mistakenly) to Churchill, that goes something like "If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain." Reading this book, I became convinced that the latter half of the aphorism should be, "If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no kids." Of course, Stein's disagreement with the left over the proper way to raise his children was just the beginning of his odyssey, but once he began to break rank, his departure was almost assured by the venomous reaction he got from his former friends. "When did you become a fascist?" one asked. This is just an unforgivable way to treat someone who's having what amounts to a crisis of faith. Rather than trying to bring him back into the fold, his "friends" inexplicably proceeded to drive him the rest of the way out. But don't worry, the book's not a screed. It's just the story of how one man came to change his mind about politics, with some comic relief interspersed. It didn't strike me as mean-spirited or especially judgmental -- heck, compared to many books I've read, it's practically affectionate toward the left. If liberals get their undies in a twist over this book, and many have, all I can conclude is that they have no sense of humor at all. Really, you'd think Stein would be seen by the left as something like an ally. Even though he's switched sides, he understands where liberals are coming from in a way that lifelong conservatives generally don't and is more sympathetic than most to those ideals. The book is also a valuable case study for the left in how to drive away good people. But the left doesn't seem to want anything to do with it. A friend of mine told me this book changed his life, that Stein had put in words the nebulous feelings he'd been having. He had his first child shortly before the book came out. Coincidence? I doubt it. I haven't had any children yet myself, but reading this book has given me a much better understanding of my father, a lifelong conservative whose politics were undoubtedly reinforced by having two children. (For the record, I consider myself a moderate fiscal conservative with libertarian leanings.) Whether you're a conservative or just know someone who is, you should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Only 2
Review: The book How I joined the Vast Right Winged Confederacy was more of a biography than a book on politics. Harry Stein fails to give an indepth analysis of each of the subjects he talks about. Many of the subjects he does touch upon are important like affirmative action, femenism, and gay rights. Although many of the author's jokes make the reader laugh, his light, overly casual writing style takes away from the seriusness of the political topics. I gave this book a low rating because it wasn't interesting or worth the read.
Harry Stein says he has crossed over in terms of political identification but it is obvious that many of his views are still very liberal. He explains his transformation to him growing up and having children and to how Bill Clinton brought down the Democratic party with the whole scandal. Before his defining moment in life Harry Stein was a hard core liberal and all of a sudden just changes. He makes it seem like he is ashamed of being more conservative and shows his hestitation through describing his life. For example when he first started ordering conservative magazines and how all ofhis neighbors and friends were Democrats. Harry Stein makes it seem like he is still in high school and that it is notthe "cool thing" to be conservative and maybe peer pressure plays a part. Harry Stein and everyone else should never feel bad about thier political perspectives because democracy is based upon people having diverse views. Therefore, I gave this book such a low rating beacue it was more of a biography than book on politcal analysis.
Rating:
Summary: Don't be put off by the title
Review: Harry Stein has written a charming, amusing and thought-provoking book about the inconsistencies and problems in liberalism today. I found myself addicted to it. It is not a partisan screed, however. Democrats and Republicans alike will find themselves nodding their heads in agreement at his points. Stein's breezy, magazine style of writing makes the book easy to read and his biographical details make it much more compelling than the usual political book.
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