Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons [Paperback]

Michael Medved (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 2005

Nationally syndicated talk-radio host and noted film critic Michael Medved has taken an extraordinary journey from liberal activist to outspoken conservative. Along the way he has earned millions of admirers—and more than his share of enemies—with his disarming wit and slashing arguments on issues of pop culture and politics.

In the candid, illuminating Right Turns, Medved chronicles the lessons and adventures that changed him from a Vietnam protest leader to an optimistic promoter of American patriotism, from secularism to religion, from adventurous single guy to doting husband and father. He skewers leftist orthodoxy, revealing why the Right is right and why his former colleagues on the Left remain hopelessly wrong on every cultural, political, and social issue.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Fierce, fearless, funny, and formidable.” —Mel Gibson

“Insightful, funny, powerful, and important.” —Rush Limbaugh

“Michael Medved’s own right turns have helped many Americans discover Right thinking, and this powerful, gripping book should win many more converts.” —Ann Coulter

“A provocative memoir . . . Even many of his readers who hold to very different political and social views will concede, grudgingly, the quality of Medved’s intellect.” —New York Times Book Review

“Right Turns is an engaging memoir and a moving tribute to America. It is also a very accessible road map for explaining the practical reasons old radicals often become older conservatives.” —National Review Online

“Medved’s is an indispensable voice in America’s national dialogue on politics and popular culture.” —Washington Post

About the Author

Michael Medved is a talk-radio host and author. An honors graduate of Yale University, he lives in the Seattle area with his family.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (December 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400098327
• ISBN-13: 978-1400098323
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #444,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Medved is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host, best-selling author and veteran film critic. His daily three-hour program, emphasizing the intersection of politics and pop culture, reaches close to 5 million listeners in over 200 markets, coast to coast. For twelve consecutive years, he's been listed by Talkers Magazine as one of their "Heavy Hundred" most important American talk show hosts, and for seven of those years his show has also been listed as one of the ratings top ten.

Born in Philadelphia, raised in San Diego, Mr. Medved graduated with honors from Yale and then attended Yale Law School-where his classmates included Bill and Hillary Clinton. After working as a screenwriter in Hollywood, he reviewed movies for CNN, and later as chief film critic for the New York Post. He also served for twelve years as co-host of "Sneak Previews," the nationally televised weekly movie review show on PBS-TV.

Mr. Medved is the author of twelve non-fiction books, including the national bestseller What Really Happened to the Class of '65 (the basis for a popular TV series on NBC), as well as the definitive history of the White House chiefs of staff, The Shadow Presidents. His most influential-and controversial-work was a best-selling indictment of the entertainment industry, Hollywood Vs. America. England's prestigious Guardian newspaper wrote: "Just Occasionally, a book changes the way the world thinks. Michael Medved's Hollywood Vs. America is such a book." Mr. Medved then collaborated with his wife, Dr. Diane Medved, a clinical psychologist and author in her own right, on Saving Childhood: Protecting Our Children from the National Assault on Innocence. In October 1998, the Wall Street Journal wrote: "If Saving Childhood isn't an important book, I don't know what one would look like." His book, "Right Turns" (Crown Forum/Random House, January, 2005) drew rave reviews for its "lively and intimate" description of his transition from "punk liberal activist" to "lovable conservative curmudgeon."

Most recently, (2008-2009), Michael's book "The 10 Big Lies About America," spent twelve weeks on the New York Times extended bestseller list, and became a Main Selection of the Conservative Book Club. The follow-up volume --- "The 5 Big Lies About American Business," is scheduled for publication by Random House/Crown Forum on December 1, 2009. It is already a Main Selection of the Conservative Book Club.

Mr. Medved has been a frequent guest on all the major TV talk shows, including Larry King Live, Nightline, Oprah, David Letterman, Good Morning America, CNN's Reliable Sources and countless others. His columns on media and society appear regularly in USA Today, where he serves as a member of the Board of Contributors. The Medveds live in the Seattle area where they've raised their three children. Their oldest daughter is currently in graduate school, their middle daughter is a senior at University, and their youngest, Danny, is a senior in High School.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

141 of 170 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Part biography, part homily, all Medved, January 24, 2005

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Right Turns: Unconventional Lessons from a Controversial Life (Hardcover)

I have four main reasons for liking this book.

(1) I like Michael Medved. He's a personable, decent, and intelligent guy; his biography is interesting because he himself is.

(2) Having never been a leftie myself, I enjoy reading accounts by ex-lefties about how they came around to good sense. (And accounts by formerly secular-leftist Jews about how they returned to traditional observance. Medved is good buddies with Rabbi Daniel Lapin, author of _America's Real War_.)

(3) I _dis_agree with Medved often enough (he didn't like the first _Batman_ film!) that his book illustrates an important point: despite what you may have heard, the political right is as intellectually diverse as the left.

(4) Medved seems to have been present, albeit in the background, at nearly every important sociopolitical event of the last four decades. It's like _Forrest Gump_ for conservatives. Heck, he was at Yale with Bush, Kerry, Clinton, and Rodham; his personal accounts of those folks alone are worth reading whether you care about Medved himself or not.

The book itself is arranged into thirty-five 'lessons', each of which is part biography, part homily. For example, Medved launches his tale with an account of his grandparents' immigration to the U.S., but rather than just presenting biographical details, he ties it in with a short account of why he thinks the existence of the United States is divinely providential. This pattern continues throughout the book, with some chapters heavier on the biography and others almost all homiletic.

There's lots of interesting stuff packed into the cracks. You'll find out, e.g., just exactly _which_ film mentioned in _The Golden Turkey Awards_ was actually a hoax.

Medved is, of course, a well-known film critic who thinks (with good reason) that 'Hollyweird' has lost touch with American values and produces films primary to satisfy left-leaning anti-American/anti-religious critics rather than to make money. If you want to know more about his opinions, look up his online columns and read his _Hollywood vs. America_, which I reviewed some years ago.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right Turns , The Life of Michael Medved, October 26, 2005

By 

M. Sheldon (Kingston , WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Right Turns: Unconventional Lessons from a Controversial Life (Hardcover)

The humor , insight to famous people, Hillary he knew in college, and his weird behaviors, will stop the family car to pick up trash on the road side , makes this book just roll along . Michael Medved is one of those walking talking Encylopedia's, he knows his facts. He presents them in a very interesing and logical manner . Great insights into the movie industry , politics and tactics from the left and right , and a beautiful portrayal of how religion can change a person's heart for the better and change how they view the world . Great book , easy rading , I loved it .

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love the Guy, Don't Always Love the Message, November 27, 2005

By 

richierich - See all my reviews

This review is from: Right Turns: Unconventional Lessons from a Controversial Life (Hardcover)

Michael Medved is a religious (orthodox) Jew. His message is often too religious and right-wing political for my taste. Yet the man has integrity, candor, character and incredible moral values. We could all do much worse than to listen to that kind of man. If only America would put more integrity, candor, charachter and moral values into our government, classrooms and politics- we'd all be better off for it. Solid book, easy reading, great man as author.