THE ESSENTIAL AMERICA: Our Founders and the Liberal Tradition

The former presidential candidate, three-term South Dakota senator and outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War balances partisan argument with historical perspective in his winning, well-reasoned (if rarely startling) ninth book. Drawing both on the "moral and spiritual views" of America's founders and on his own experiences (as a wartime bomber pilot, a senator and a U.N. official fighting world hunger), McGovern defends a proud legacy of liberalism, whose "role is to harness federal power to serve the public interest." Offering warm words for many Republicans, McGovern nevertheless pulls no punches about the current administration's "arrogance and go-it-alone" behavior; much of the book outlines a progressive alternative. Five chapters alternate progressive policy recommendations with discussions of (and long quotes from) presidents McGovern admires: Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and FDR. The book's real historical hero, however, is Eisenhower, who warned that an ever-expanding "military-industrial complex" could choke off democracy and waste American treasure in needless wars. Agent, Esther Newberg at ICM . (Aug.)

Forecast: Conservatives won't trust the messenger, and liberals may find nothing much new in his message—nevertheless, the volume will make a perfect gift for recovering Deaniacs, and will reassure older progressives that American history remains on their side.