The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right

In this memoir-manifesto, Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Boot (The Road Not Taken: Edward Lansdale and the American Tragedy in Vietnam) frankly explores his tumultuous relationship with the Republican Party, likening it to “a tale of first love, marriage, growing disenchantment, and, eventually, a heartbreaking divorce.” Boot, a Jewish immigrant from the Soviet Union, describes the journey from the beginnings of his career at the Wall Street Journal through positions at the Weekly Standard and Commentary to his current role as a loud Trump critic at the Washington Post and on CNN. Due to his moral horror at the rhetoric and policies of Donald Trump and his supporters, the author has finally turned his back on the only political party he ever identified with, as well as on many of the conservative beliefs he first formulated as a young reader of National Review in the 1980s. While he considers the Democratic Party as a necessary buffer to Trump in the next few elections, Boot refuses to completely give up on conservatism. Instead, he envisions a future for American politics that includes a centrist party led by an Eisenhower-like figure for disillusioned center-left and center-right voters alienated by the extremists in power. Boot’s passionate and principled stand against alleged tyranny will resonate with many readers disillusioned with the state of contemporary politics. (Oct.)