Rating: Summary: Blinded by the light...weight Review: This guy is a mental lightweight who clearly has no idea where his conscious lies. With this book, he has clearly severed all ties with journalistic credibility. In my opinion, he is trying to revive a career with a controversial political "switch". If you haven't purchased the book, I would suggest that you keep your money-this book is a left wing letdown. See you back on the right, Mr. Brock.
Rating: Summary: Duh! Review: So, when Brock was writing exposes for American Spectator--on Bill Clinton and his use of Arkansas troopers as procurers for him and when he was writing about Anita Hill, he was lying. The books and articles had references and named names--and, at least some of the troopers verified what Brock wrote. He was also not making a lot of money, was the target of the Left, who outed him, could not get a gig on a talk show--period. He was villified as a liar by the Left. Now, he recants and does a suck-up book on Hillary Clinton followed by an expose of the Right---all without references and verification. But, suddenly, he is making the rounds of the liberal talk shows, his books get serious/favorable reviews rather than attacks and screeds, he is a lion of the Left, and is now telling the truth. Excuse me? Does anyone else out there see this for what it is?
Rating: Summary: Finally! Review: The right wing has run amuk in this country in the last two decades, branding everyone who doesn't agree with their particular brand of cruel conservatism a traitor to America. It always sounded kind of scary. Now we see why. The right wing has finally been exposed for being the loopy, wacky--and dangerous--nuts anyone with a conscience always suspected. I used to be a middle-to-right kind of guy, but these days not being a liberal means not fighting these guys. Everyone should read this book, and learn, and weep, and then fight!
Rating: Summary: Verifies what most suspected anyhow. Review: As a life-long Republican in a very un-Republican state and only slightly older than Brock, I have long been horrified by the actions of the party. Two events stand out and are mentioned in this book. The first was Pat Buchanan's speech at the National Convention where I actually gasped aloud at what he was saying, and the second was the impeachment proceedings where the sheer stupidity and attempts at history-grabbing were positively shameful. Like Brock I chose to be a Rupublican in college because I couldn't stand most of the left-wing ranting what was all around me and I still can't stand it. Growing up in Mass. and attending the State University, one is exposed to the hollowness of it all, and his reasoning for joining the cause will ring true to anyone of a certain age. It was true for me. But somewhere along the line the party got hijacked by the far-right nutcases so acurately depicted in this book. Spend some time in Washington and you understand how these characters are totally believeable. Just the flat tone of most of what is written should alert the reader to where the truth really is. Anyone who cares, and most of all those of us that still do have conservative tendencies should read this book. It is time to move these power-hungry right-wing lunatics on. After all, haven't we already seen first-hand what the far right of any political system is capable of? I don't for a minute think that it can't happen here...or maybe the phrase "Homeland Security" doesn't scare you like it does me. But the worst part of this book? Hillary was right.
Rating: Summary: Read This Book! Review: Whether you consider yourself liberal, conservative, or somewhere in-between, you MUST read this book. It's an insider's story of the politics of right-wing hatred and spin that held us captive throughout the '90s. You'll learn how a handful of ambitious zealots managed to brainwash millions of good Americans into buying their warped ideology. In a nutshell, they did it by being louder, meaner, and better financed than everyone else -- not by being right (or, as they want us to believe, righteous). How did we let this happen? And why are we still letting it happen today?
Rating: Summary: Why should we belive him now?? Review: David Brock should be the poster boy for the new politics. First he makes a living writing stories the right wingers want to hear. Now, he is retracting it all and telling stories tthe left wingers want to hear. Pretty amazing! He is able to rip off both sides of the political spectrum. Why would anyone want to buy a book from an admited liar??????? and not just about little things, but just about everything he previously wrote. The sad part is the book is well written. Perhaps Mr. Brock should consider a carrer as a fiction writer, evidently he already has a good start! Don't wast your Money.
Rating: Summary: What next. Review: David are we to believe that all at once you woke up and sw the light. What are you going to do next??????? See the light again??? Bad book keep your money... Wait for paperback or go see it from someone else.
Rating: Summary: Important but not for the obvious reasons Review: David Brock's book Blinded by the Right is an interesting portrait of an era when many young and ambitious college students became members of the conservative party as part of a rebellion against the domination of liberal values in the University system. The book goes on to chronicle Brock's various journalistic indiscretions as an ambitious right wing reporter. All this is interesting although the conservative press' views and reporting methodology have long been suspect and this book merely confirms some of the darkest of those suspicions. While Brock certainly is responsible for the worst of the book's misdeeds he also names names of prominent figures in the conservative movement who were also responsible for the spread of misinformation (although often piously declaiming to the contrary). While this act of muckraking is important to the national discourse on the role of journalism it isn't the most intriguing part of the Brock story. The question that the book begs, that the liberal left must answer, is how a gay, left leaning admirer of Kennedy could become such a devoted and truculent conservative? Brock speaks of watching conservative figures bashed repeatedly with no attempt made communicate at all and a self righteousness that accepted no alternative way of seeing things. This monolithic culture of left elitism is what ultimately drove Brock to the right and is a serious impediment to clear discussion of important issues to this day. It is obvious from this book and from William McGowan's excellent Coloring the News that the need for journalistic reform is necessary to create a clear and sensitive discussion of the issues facing our society instead of simply using journalism as a tool to fulfill a political dogma. I urge any person concerned with the state of journalism today to read both of these fine books. We can not resolve anything by simply calling each other names.
Rating: Summary: Oh yes, Hillary, there is a right wing conspiracy. Review: I have waited for months for this book to be published! I was afraid once it was pushed back due to 9/11 that it would never see the light of day due to the President's "approval rating". Anyone in America who considers themselves a thinking individual should read this book and really see what's really going on behind the scenes. The "Family Values" party is filled with folks who simply project their own issues (alcoholism, womanizing, greed, fraud, etc.) onto others, and believe they have the right to be sanctimonious hypocrits. It's psychological drama at its finest. And it's great to see conservatives pour their money into organizations headed by fools similar to themselves who like to spend the money on themselves first and the "cause" second. It's amazing to watch greed and unrealistic fears in action. On the down side, it's pretty scary to think that so many downright psychopaths have found their way into the judiciary, the executive branch and the legislative branches of government. Read it - you owe it to yourself to know the truth.
Rating: Summary: The Perils of a Gay Neoconservative Review: While this is a very well-written book and David Brock does an excellent job exposing the inner machinations of the neoconservative framework and his role as the mouthpiece of neoconservatism, I had a difficult time accepting the sincerity of Brock's adoption of these views in the first place and his ultimate gravitation away from them. The truth of the matter is that Brock's embrace of the Right Wing was a post-adolescent reaction to liberal academia combined with an attempt to seek the acceptance of his conservative father who was reviled by the fact that Brock is gay. Brock intimates as much throughout the book and his honesty in this regard is commendable. Brock ultimately rejects neoconservatism, not because of an ideological evolution or his general disenchantment with ultra right-wing politics, but because of his role as a gay man, and thus an anomaly, within a political framework that is contrary to everything he truly represents. Brock's epiphany: he can't be gay and right wing. While I commend Brock's project of self-criticism, ultimately it is self-serving, just as was his work as a chief ideologue for neoconservatism during his tenure with the American Spectator and his later libel of Anita Hill.
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