Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement (Background: Essential Texts for the Conservative Mind) (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: victory plan, modern libertarian movement, new exploiting class, New Deal, United States, Cold War (more...)

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"When I was deciding whether or not to run for President as a Republican, I re-read Justin Raimondo's Reclaiming the American Right and it gave me hope—that the anti-interventionist, pro-liberty Old Right, which had once dominated the party, could and would rise again. Here is living history: the story of an intellectual and political tradition that my campaign invokved and reawakened. This prescient book, written in 1993, could not be more relevant today."
— RON PAUL, Ten Term U.S. Congressman (TX) and 2008 Presidential Candidate

“Richly researched, brilliantly written, passionately argued. . . . A veritable Iliad of the American Right.”—Patrick J. Buchanan, political commentator, syndicated columnist, and author

Product Description

In recent years a number of conservatives have wondered where the Right went wrong. One persuasive answer is provided by Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement. Justin Raimondo’s captivating narrative is the story of how the non-interventionist Old Right—which included half-forgotten giants and prophets such as Sen. Robert A. Taft, Garet Garrett, and Col. Robert McCormick—was supplanted in influence by a Right that made its peace with bigger government at home and “perpetual war for perpetual peace” abroad. First published in 1993, Reclaiming the American Right is today as timely as ever.

The latest volume in ISI Books’ Background series, this edition includes a new introduction by Georgetown political scientist George W. Carey, Patrick J. Buchanan’s introduction to the second edition, and new critical essays on the text by Scott Richert, executive editor of Chronicles, and David Gordon, senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

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Product Details Paperback: 375 pages Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute; 2 edition (May 15, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 1933859601 ISBN-13: 978-1933859606 Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.9 inches Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #458,840 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
victory plan, modern libertarian movement, new exploiting class, bureaucratic collectivism

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New Deal, United States, Cold War, Garet Garrett, World War, Soviet Union, James Burnham, National Review, Max Shachtman, New World Order, Atlas Shrugged, The Driver, Ayn Rand, New York, Saturday Evening Post, America First, Birth of the Modern Libertarian Movement, New Republic, Pearl Harbor, The Managerial Revolution, Communist Party, The Remnant, Wall Street, Rose Wilder Lane, Old World

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7 Reviews 5 star:  (4) 4 star:  (3) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 71 of 77 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Recovering the Old Right, May 25, 2000 By  John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Silver Lake, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement (Paperback) In this excellent book, Justin Raimondo breathes new life into the forgotten icons of the Old Right. These figures include -- among others -- Albert Jay Nock (who was in fact regarded as a "leftist" for part of his career), H.L. Mencken, Frank Chodorov (born Fishel Chodorovsky -- did you know that? I didn't), Garet Garrett (author of _The Driver_, which Raimondo argues may have been an important unacknowledged source for Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED), John T. Flynn (who among other things wrote a scathing expose of Roosevelt and the "New Deal"), Rose Wilder Lane (author of _The Discovery of Freedom_), and Isabel Paterson (author of _The God of the Machine_ and the former guru of Ayn Rand). Raimondo also discusses the hijacking of the Right by Bill Buckley and the neoconservatives, doing a much better job than Rand did in her little puff piece, "Conservativism: An Obituary." In fact Raimondo is careful to acknowledge all the genuine conservatives Rand left out of her "obituary"; rather than simply declaring conservatism dead, as Rand did, Raimondo wants to recover it from the people who almost destroyed it in favor of militaristic Statism. Raimondo also discusses some genuine contemporary conservatives, including the late great Murray Rothbard (Raimondo is also the author of a soon-to-be-published biography of Rothbard), and provides a ringing defense of Pat Buchanan against a number of unfair attacks -- though he also harshly criticizes Buchanan's stand against free international trade. (The back of the book features an endorsement from Buchanan, by the way -- a little tribute to the intellectual integrity of both men.) His remarks on Rand will also be of interest to bemused watchers of the "Objectivist" movement. Despite some obvious respect for her talents as a novelist (he thinks, and I agree, that _The Fountainhead_ was her best work and ATLAS SHRUGGED was pretty kludgy), he does not spare the rod as regards her pretensions of originality, her claim to stand within no pre-existing tradition whatsoever, her intellectual fraud in each of these respects, her failure to give proper credit even to those of her forebears who were directly influential on her thought (Isabel Paterson being the primary example), and her endorsement of several policies that would have been anathema to the Old Right. I suspect that Raimondo would be happy -- and I know I would -- if Rand were publicly exposed as a pretentious, pseudophilosophical, cult-mongering fraud, discredited as a representative of the classical-liberal Right, and recognized as the "leftist" she really was. (And any "Objectivists" reading this review are hereby invited to click "Not helpful.") At any rate Raimondo's workmanlike volume belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in recovering the genuine tradition of liberty. His efforts to restore the memory of an important and all but forgotten strain of American thought will be of interest to libertarians and classical liberals everywhere. 31 of 33 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars A Legacy Worth Discovering, February 18, 2000 By  John E. Cox (Memphis, Tn United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement (Paperback) Justin Raimondo's "Reclaiming the American Right" is one of the most fascinating political books I have ever read. I first read this work a couple of years ago, but return to it often because the stories of the various figures of the Old Right are so relevant to the current political situation. This book should be required reading for all who associate the word "conservative" with "troglodyte" or "warmonger". It wasn't always so! The "Old Right" conservatives were very interested in personal liberty and bitterly opposed to war and the Merchants of Death who profit from them. They saw that in trying to police the world, America would lose it's liberty. Garet Garrett, John T. Flynn, Frank Chodorov ... these are names that deserve to be widely known, men whose works should be read as an antidote to the interventionist dogma of our times. Raimondo performed a valuable service in presenting their views to a new generation. 19 of 21 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Retracing the steps of the long march from Trotskyism to Neoconservatism , May 11, 2006 By  Earth that Was - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement (Paperback) Great eye for detail. Author traces the rise of "neoconservatism" (surely a contradiction in terms) in the US from it's beginnings amongst 1930s Trotskyites and hard line anti-communist liberals and social democrats in the cold war. Justin Raimondo shows how these groups were alienated by the developments on the American left during the post-Vietnam era and thus migrated to the right becoming a key part of the Reagan coalition. This faction displaced older line isolationist conservatives. It's not just the defection of former leftists to right as individuals, it was a factional migration. The trail for the neocon migration of the 1970s was blazed for them by a previous generation of National Review affiliated "New Right" thinkers in the 1950s such as James Burnham. There is a most interesting profile of Trotsky's main US apostle, Max Schactman. Max had raced to Trotsky's death bed after Stalin had him killed. Max never had the actual elective surgery that converts leftists to a fully fledged neocon, he remained a lifelong socialist. Max saw Washington as the real centre of the true revolution for global social democracy. He even saw the JFK / LBJ's interventions in Cuba and Vietnam as the historically "progressive" force versus Fidel and Ho Chi Minh, essentially reactionary fascist nationalists in marxist drag. The shadow of Max and Leon now influences US policy. Unfortunately.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Needed now more than ever! This book, written and originally published in the early-1990s, has, if anything, become more relevant in the decade-and-a-half since its publication. Read more Published 10 months ago by Prof. CJ 5.0 out of 5 stars Defining the Old Right. "Reclaiming the American Right" is an investigation into the evolution of the conservative movement. Read more Published 12 months ago by Scripture Studier 5.0 out of 5 stars A look back that's essential for looking ahead I've wanted to read this book for a long time, and was very happy when ISI announced its republication earlier this year. Read more Published 15 months ago by Andrew S. Rogers 4.0 out of 5 stars The True Origins of Neoconservatism Justin Raimondo has written a fairly respectable book on the history of American Conservatism within the 20th century and how it has changed as a result of World War II and the... Read more Published on December 31, 2002 by Eric Martin Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 375 pages
• Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute; 2 edition (May 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933859601
• ISBN-13: 978-1933859606
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #458,840 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recovering the Old Right, May 25, 2000

By	John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Silver Lake, OH) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement (Paperback)

In this excellent book, Justin Raimondo breathes new life into the forgotten icons of the Old Right. These figures include -- among others -- Albert Jay Nock (who was in fact regarded as a "leftist" for part of his career), H.L. Mencken, Frank Chodorov (born Fishel Chodorovsky -- did you know that? I didn't), Garet Garrett (author of _The Driver_, which Raimondo argues may have been an important unacknowledged source for Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED), John T. Flynn (who among other things wrote a scathing expose of Roosevelt and the "New Deal"), Rose Wilder Lane (author of _The Discovery of Freedom_), and Isabel Paterson (author of _The God of the Machine_ and the former guru of Ayn Rand).

Raimondo also discusses the hijacking of the Right by Bill Buckley and the neoconservatives, doing a much better job than Rand did in her little puff piece, "Conservativism: An Obituary." In fact Raimondo is careful to acknowledge all the genuine conservatives Rand left out of her "obituary"; rather than simply declaring conservatism dead, as Rand did, Raimondo wants to recover it from the people who almost destroyed it in favor of militaristic Statism.

Raimondo also discusses some genuine contemporary conservatives, including the late great Murray Rothbard (Raimondo is also the author of a soon-to-be-published biography of Rothbard), and provides a ringing defense of Pat Buchanan against a number of unfair attacks -- though he also harshly criticizes Buchanan's stand against free international trade. (The back of the book features an endorsement from Buchanan, by the way -- a little tribute to the intellectual integrity of both men.)

His remarks on Rand will also be of interest to bemused watchers of the "Objectivist" movement. Despite some obvious respect for her talents as a novelist (he thinks, and I agree, that _The Fountainhead_ was her best work and ATLAS SHRUGGED was pretty kludgy), he does not spare the rod as regards her pretensions of originality, her claim to stand within no pre-existing tradition whatsoever, her intellectual fraud in each of these respects, her failure to give proper credit even to those of her forebears who were directly influential on her thought (Isabel Paterson being the primary example), and her endorsement of several policies that would have been anathema to the Old Right. I suspect that Raimondo would be happy -- and I know I would -- if Rand were publicly exposed as a pretentious, pseudophilosophical, cult-mongering fraud, discredited as a representative of the classical-liberal Right, and recognized as the "leftist" she really was. (And any "Objectivists" reading this review are hereby invited to click "Not helpful.")

At any rate Raimondo's workmanlike volume belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in recovering the genuine tradition of liberty. His efforts to restore the memory of an important and all but forgotten strain of American thought will be of interest to libertarians and classical liberals everywhere.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Legacy Worth Discovering, February 18, 2000

By	John E. Cox (Memphis, Tn United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement (Paperback)

Justin Raimondo's "Reclaiming the American Right" is one of the most fascinating political books I have ever read. I first read this work a couple of years ago, but return to it often because the stories of the various figures of the Old Right are so relevant to the current political situation. This book should be required reading for all who associate the word "conservative" with "troglodyte" or "warmonger". It wasn't always so! The "Old Right" conservatives were very interested in personal liberty and bitterly opposed to war and the Merchants of Death who profit from them. They saw that in trying to police the world, America would lose it's liberty. Garet Garrett, John T. Flynn, Frank Chodorov ... these are names that deserve to be widely known, men whose works should be read as an antidote to the interventionist dogma of our times. Raimondo performed a valuable service in presenting their views to a new generation.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Retracing the steps of the long march from Trotskyism to Neoconservatism , May 11, 2006

By	Earth that Was - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement (Paperback)

Great eye for detail. Author traces the rise of "neoconservatism" (surely a contradiction in terms) in the US from it's beginnings amongst 1930s Trotskyites and hard line anti-communist liberals and social democrats in the cold war.

Justin Raimondo shows how these groups were alienated by the developments on the American left during the post-Vietnam era and thus migrated to the right becoming a key part of the Reagan coalition. This faction displaced older line isolationist conservatives. It's not just the defection of former leftists to right as individuals, it was a factional migration.

The trail for the neocon migration of the 1970s was blazed for them by a previous generation of National Review affiliated "New Right" thinkers in the 1950s such as James Burnham.

There is a most interesting profile of Trotsky's main US apostle, Max Schactman. Max had raced to Trotsky's death bed after Stalin had him killed. Max never had the actual elective surgery that converts leftists to a fully fledged neocon, he remained a lifelong socialist. Max saw Washington as the real centre of the true revolution for global social democracy. He even saw the JFK / LBJ's interventions in Cuba and Vietnam as the historically "progressive" force versus Fidel and Ho Chi Minh, essentially reactionary fascist nationalists in marxist drag. The shadow of Max and Leon now influences US policy. Unfortunately.