Rating: 
Summary: Pay no attention to the naysayers.
Review: Much has been said about whether we can believe anything in this book given that, by his own account, Brock lied several times while acting as a journalistic hit man for the right wing. Suddenly, it seems, Brock's truthfulness is a whole lot more important to mainstream media folk now that he's defending liberals rather than libeling them. This is even true for many liberals, ever at narcissistic pains to show what nice, fair people they are, which is clearly a more pressing project for most of them than social and political improvement.But the gossipy allegations at the center of the "is he lying again?" question are a small part of Brock's story. More than anything, Blinded By the Right is a concise history of the right's aggressive campaign to ruin Anita Hill, Clinton, and various and sundry others, most of which is a matter of record. Brock is an extremely readable writer and, if nothing else, he's done a fine job of summarizing the careers and actions of the right-wing's key players. These folks are as damned by Brock's pithy summaries of what they've said and done publicly as they are by what he recalls them saying and doing privately. That said, I don't find a single allegation in the gossipy bits at all preposterous. It is also telling that while much as been said regarding Brock's character, no one seems inclined to test the matter in court. This book is required reading for anyone wishing to know how we got where we are now and for understanding just how bad a place that is.
Rating:
Summary: should be read by all Americans
Review: David Brock was a 'journalist' for the Republican right wing (a redundancy?) from about 1986 to 1996, becoming a star in right wing circles by smearing Anita Hill and the Clintons. In 1997, he was suddenly ostracized by his former buddies on the right for not being tough enough on Hillary Clinton in his book 'The Seduction of Hillary Clinton', after finally having pangs of conscious about what he had been doing. He writes: 'The days of six-figure salaries and seven-figure book contracts were gone once I split from the movement.... I found other magazines in the journalistic mainstream willing to publish me, despite my checkered journalistic past. The experience was an eye-opening one. I'll never forget the panic that came over me when I received the first call from a fact checker at New York magazine, asking me to submit my notes for a story. In twelve years of right-wing journalism, my work had never been fact-checked.' This is one of the most important and disturbing books of our time and should be read by all Americans. It lays out in great detail various components of the 'vast right-wing conspiracy' (it really exists) and shows how it has, over at least the past twelve years, poisoned political dialog in the United States by polluting the various media and political commentary with a continuous stream of lies, distortions and innuendos. Spin trumps truth. Cruel smears are disguised as thorough 'investigation.' Continual repetition of egregious lies becomes the accepted 'truth.' The politics of hate and polarization drive out the politics of consensus, compromise, civility and restraint. The degree of hatred these people have for the Clintons and 'liberals' is truly scary, especially considering the extent to which they have gained power and influence in Washington D.C. and in the media. These people are truly at war with the 'other side,' and anything goes if it helps them gain power for themselves and for the right-wing social and economic interests they represent. We see or hear them every day, ad nauseum, all over the so-called 'liberal' mainstream media and in the Bush administration, toned down, of course, to appeal to a wider audience. Truth-telling and trust are essential ingredients for a democracy (as well as capital markets) to function successfully. Will mainstream America ever wake up to the deception? If they read books like this, they will. If, more likely, they listen to and believe the mainstream media, filled with the very people this book exposes, they won't. How depressing!
Rating:
Summary: The Reference on Washington Politics
Review: Blinded by the Right is more than just a spellbinder, you must own it. This book belongs on your reference shelf alongside Bartlett, Fowler, & Chambers Biographical Dictionary. It is also a cautionary tale for any would-be reformers: don't even think of reforming the American political system if you are not ready to take on the lunatic fringe and their media lizards. I believe every word of this book. Unlike some of the reviewers here who hedge with ..." if even 10% of what he..." It is a book written straight from the heart at great cost to himself Brock quotes chapter and verse , names names and lays himself open to any and all comers. The very fact that after calling Judge Thomas a liar, a crook and a pornographer there has been not one hint of a libel suit from Thomas or for that matter from any of the others mentioned by Brock. Why ? They can't.
This book was researched over 2 years and like his previous "The Seduction of Hillary" Brock traveled back and forth from Washington to Little Rock dozens of times, checking facts and interviewing hundreds Want to know who the 5 Bobs are ? Want to know how the hate and jealousy spewed from a bait shop in Arkansas spread and engulfed a whole nation and the World ? Its all here in Brock's book. Want to get behind the camera and see what makes people like Robert Novac , Tucker Carlson, The Olsens, The Oburnes and Larry the host of that reptillian universe of misinformation on CNN ? "Washington Post", "Washington Times" one is first class newspaper the other is a sect newsletter of Rev. Moon. Ever notice on this site that the one-star reviews for "Blinded" are very short: like one or two liners ? You know why? They havn't read the book and are posting from idealogical cant only.
Notice also the 5-star reviews are long, detailed and full of good thoughtful writing. On the day I looked there were 199 reviews in total 138 of the 5 or 4 star pieces.
Buy it keep it and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: It's the Allegations, Stupid
Review: Read this book if you want to know what conservatives really mean by "traditional values". David Brock details a blizzard of lies, perjury, smear campaigns, hypocrisy, and just plain hatred on the part of self-proclaimed guardians of morality, decency and democracy. For those who prefer tales of "traditional vices"--sex and drunkeness, well they're in here too, courtesy of the same conservative scions. Note the accompanying negative reviews of this book. You will find that, almost without exception, they ignore Brock's allegations, focusing instead on attacking (or trying to "analyze") the man himself. This of course is the old ad hominem argument--attack the speaker, when you can't refute what he is saying. Ignore these irrelevant attacks; what matters is only the question, are Brock's allegations correct? To date, no one has discredited a single one of them. Read this wild ride of a book, repudiate the corrupt cast of characters and their tactics that fill its pages, and demand and vote only for candidates of integrity. Lord knows we've had enough of the others.
Rating:
Summary: ARTICULATE RECITATION OF THE SAD REALITIES OF TODAY
Review: This book must be read by all voters in this nation so that they can be educated on the propaganda that is now prevalent in the American political process. The book is not shocking. It is sad and leaves one either very depressing or recharged to fix the problems that still plaque American hundreds of years after our founding fathers tried to establish a fair and equitable governmental process.
Rating: 
Summary: The Truth Will Set You Free. The Reader or the Writer?
Review: Blinded by the Right is in some ways a remarkable book. In other ways, it is a frustrating tale of self-centeredness and greed -- the author's. Brock is a fine writer. He is informed and clearly intelligent. In Blinded, Brock provides a first-person account of the tactics employed by the conservative Republican extreme throughout the 1990's in their effort to "spread their message" and exert the considerable power of their money and influence. The book is frightening in that political games are laid bare and the conservative Republicans look pretty reprehensible in the process. While there are just as many - perhaps more -- similar books on the opposite spectrum of politics, Brock's stands out because it is so strongly autobiographical and he was so much a part of the propaganda machine as a reporter for the American Spectator during the 90's. He wrote many of the stories that caught our attention in the news media. David Brock was one of the party's key delivery boys! Even more frightening is the fact that David Brock was a soul-less chameleon who served as a political puppet for many years. While some folks are motivated to advocate positions because of deep personal conviction, David Brock was a shallow, selfish man, essentially interested in only one cause - himself. Brock essentially proved he was willing to be anything he needed to be and to go to any lengths to advance his own standing, inflate his own ego, make himself more money, and promote his own notoriety. I can't say that I leave Blinded by the Right with much sympathy for David Brock. While Brock has obviously gone through some form of personal transformation in writing this book about his own dishonesty, he actually got quite a bit out of his personal prostitution over the years as one of the key party messenger boys. If he believes it was he that was used, I would urge another look. Even after his "breakthrough" there still seems to be disingenuousness to Brock's desire to "come clean" and his personal ego looms large throughout the book - even after his supposed "wake-up" call. I'm not really very convinced that Brock has actually changed his agenda very much through all of his soul searching. So much of the undertone of Blinded by the Right seems to sound a discordant note that "the world somehow should revolve around David Brock". Sadly, he still seems to lack very much conviction or commitment to anything other than to himself. While I enjoyed reading Brock's account of some of the zealotry that drove a wedge through American politics all through the 90's, I can't help but finish the book hoping that David Brock himself finds something to believe in that is worthy of his intelligence and giftedness. A man at middle age who doesn't have any personal conviction, regard for others, or much to believe in that is larger than oneself, quite frankly, isn't very impressive. Daniel J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Rating:
Summary: A genuine confession
Review: For someone who voted for Clinton twice, this book's expose of the far right is gratifying and frightening, as several of the most flagrant perpetrators of right-wing fascism are now in office. However, what gives this book its moral fiber, what puts it into another league from a Kitty-Kelly type expose, is that the author makes a genuine confession of what he did wrong. The political right, whose favor he actively courted, did some dreadful things, and Brock himself did some very dreadful things, which he candidly describes to the reader. No finger pointing. No lame excuses. He tells a tale of sin and repentence, with genuine soul searching and acts of contrition. This is a personal story as well as a political story. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: "It's not the votes that count...
Review: ...but who counts the votes." (Joseph Stalin) This book has generated controversy -- from rightwingers enraged over the author's treason, to leftwingers skeptical of his biting of the hands which fed and later bled him. "Blinded by the Right" does come off more as revenge than conscience. And the author is the self-confessed liar who smirkingly fabricated the most far-fetched sleaze about opponants of the radical Right. But nothing in Brock's latest book is exactly a revelation or expose' -- who isn't already aware of all the stones of scandal backfiring into the fragile glass houses of the oh-so-hypocritical Right? Collected and collated, all this dish does, of course, make for some entertaining (and scary!) fare. But that is not what makes it interesting to me. Rather, it's Brock's personal story, his involvement with all these unsavory characters and their agenda. For I can identify with Brock's early embracement and his ultimate rejection of the Grand Old Party, which has been hijacked by extremists such as the [Un]Christian Coalition. After all, it was that consummate Conservative, Senator Barry Goldwater, who first denounced religio-political movements as unAmerican "evil", and who declared that the only concern about gays in the military should be "whether they can shoot straight". And back when the words "conservatism" and "conservation" had the same root, it was President Richard Nixon who created the EPA and first signed environmental bills into legislation. No surprise, therefore, that Hillary Rodham (Clinton) had been such a zealous campaigner for Goldwater... and Nixon was the first President I helped elect. (Ironically, so many Republicans nowadays deny having voted for Nixon, one wonders how he ever achieved that landslide second-term victory!) I became disenchanted with the GOP during Reagan's regime, during escalating Cold War insanity and the rise of the "religious reich". Whereas David Brock had just begun his own descent. Having fled the leftist radicalism of his college contemporaries for the staunchly anti-Communist stance of the Right, he soon found his own niche in the GOP's new "moral-values" mudslinging, focused on the personal lives of its opposition. Brock now apologises for his smear & sneer assault on Anita Hill. And he exposes the entire sleazy Vast Rightwing Conspiracy to "kill Clinton", which karmically claimed a host of adulterous Conservative casualties. One chapter deals with the Paula Jones scandal. Hypocritical religious groups spent thousands of dollars arranging Jones' make-over from garish strumpet to naive Christian maiden. (This futile endeavor was rewarded by Jones' subsequent flirtation with Penthouse Magazine.) Even when no sexual sludge can be dredged to smear political opponants, rightwing campaign committees resort to such vile slander as the widespread lie about (R. AZ) Senator John McCain's "collaboration" with his VietCong captors. If the "new" GOP is so unaverse to defiling its own, it's not surprising that its enduring spokesmen, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, would blame the terrible events of September 11 on "liberals, feminists, pagans, and homosexuals". Those vicious accusations shocked David Brock and finally severed his ties with the "new" Republican Party. As a fellow registered Independent, I found his claimed recovered "Conscience", at least, compatible with my own. Like Brock, I'll continue to support worthy Conservative candidates who emphatically denounce rightwing extremists and "religious" fanatics.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing On More That A Few Levels
Review: Blinded by the Right is in some ways a remarkable book. In other ways, it is a frustrating tale of self-centeredness and greed -- the author's. Brock is a fine writer. He is informed and clearly intelligent. In Blinded, Brock provides a first-person account of the tactics employed by the conservative Republican extreme throughout the 1990's in their effort to "spread their message" and exert the considerable power of their money and influence. The book is frightening in that political games are laid bare and the conservative Republicans look pretty reprehensible in the process. While there are just as many - perhaps more -- similar books on the opposite spectrum of politics, Brock's stands out because it is so strongly autobiographical and he was so much a part of the propaganda machine as a reporter for the American Spectator during the 90's. He wrote many of the stories that caught our attention in the news media. David Brock was one of the party's key delivery boys! Even more frightening is the fact that David Brock was a soul-less chameleon who served as a political puppet for many years. While some folks are motivated to advocate positions because of deep personal conviction, David Brock was a shallow, selfish man, essentially interested in only one cause - himself. Brock essentially proved he was willing to be anything he needed to be and to go to any lengths to advance his own standing, inflate his own ego, make himself more money, and promote his own notoriety. I can't say that I leave Blinded by the Right with much sympathy for David Brock. While Brock has obviously gone through some form of personal transformation in writing this book about his own dishonesty, he actually got quite a bit out of his personal prostitution over the years as one of the key party messenger boys. If he believes it was he that was used, I would urge another look. Even after his "breakthrough" there still seems to be disingenuousness to Brock's desire to "come clean" and his personal ego looms large throughout the book - even after his supposed "wake-up" call. I'm not really very convinced that Brock has actually changed his agenda very much through all of his soul searching. So much of the undertone of Blinded by the Right seems to sound a discordant note that "the world somehow should revolve around David Brock". Sadly, he still seems to lack very much conviction or commitment to anything other than to himself. While I enjoyed reading Brock's account of some of the zealotry that drove a wedge through American politics all through the 90's, I can't help but finish the book hoping that David Brock himself finds something to believe in that is worthy of his intelligence and giftedness. A man at middle age who doesn't have any personal conviction, regard for others, or much to believe in that is larger than oneself, quite frankly, isn't very impressive...
Rating:
Summary: A thought provoking Must Read!!
Review: If you ever wondered how someone like Hitler was elected in a democracy and went on to lead his country to the brink of ruin--this book provides some frightening insights into the process. If only half of what Brock discloses is true, this book is a wake up call to any who value freedom and our way of life. The hypocritical and zealous quest for power engaged in by the so called "Christians" of the religious right and the right wing conservatives who hide under banners of "family values", "compassionate conservative", and other such nonsensical labels shows these people to be strict adherents to the -- end justifies the means --philosophy responsible for some of the most horrible crimes in history. Anyone who allows themself to be blinded by the empty rhetoric of the right wing in our country is coming close to committing treason against our very way of life. I hope that many will read this and be invigorated to support our democratic ideals as well as to begin to seriously question the way in which information is spoon fed to the public under the watchful eye of the mainstream media. Some of the info in this book should have been huge stories which were never given any attention. One of many examples is the complicity of the Wall Street Journal in Vince Foster's suicide. The rampant hypocrisy evidenced by the leaders of the Republican Party in 1990s America was mind boggling and frightening. Their interest in power for it's own sake should be a stern warning to those who would support them in the future Read this book if you want to know something about what to watch out for and pay attention to in the future. Exercise your right to vote and demand that those who profess to lead us to a moral high ground have the ability and capacity to walk that road themselves first!
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