As Democrats have surged back into power, jubilant liberals have rushed to proclaim that American conservatism is dead, both intellectually and politically - and some on the Right seem half-inclined to agree. Conservatives, trying to regroup, must now confront crucial questions: How did their once-dominant political and intellectual movement end up in such disarray? And where is it headed? This is where George Nash comes in. Nash is the preeminent historian of modern American conservatism; his landmark work "The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945" remains the definitive study in the field. In his timely new book, "Reappraising the Right", he reexamines the roots and achievements of the contemporary American Right and assesses its prospects for the years ahead. Drawing on more than thirty years of study and reflection, "Reappraising the Right" ranges far and wide. It showcases Nash's brilliant insights on such conservative luminaries as Ronald Reagan, William F. Buckley Jr., Russell Kirk, and Whittaker Chambers, and on less well known but nonetheless profoundly important individuals who laid the foundations for modern conservatism.
The book also features Nash's surprising and provocative perspectives on Franklin Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover, neoconservatism and 'crunchy conservatism', National Review and Commentary, think tanks and colleges, and much more beyond. Ideally suited for the current season of soul-searching on the Right, "Reappraising the Right" is both an enlightening examination of conservarism's rise and an insightful - and ultimately encouraging - reflection on its chances for renewal.