Neo-conservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea

by Irving Kristol

Neoconservatism is the movement that has provided the intellectual foundation for the resurgence of American conservatism in our time. And if neoconservatism can be said to have a father or an architect, that person is Irving Kristol.
Neoconservatism is the most comprehensive selection of Kristol's influential writings on politics and economics, as well as the best of his now-famous essays on society, religion, culture, literature, education, and - above all - the "values" issues that have come to define the neo-conservative critique of contemporary life.
These essays provide an unparalleled insight into the 50-year development of Kristol's social and political ideas, from an uneasy socialism tempered with religious orthodoxy, to a vigilant optimism about the future of the American experiment. Those already familiar with Kristol's work will especially enjoy the new autobiographical essay that introduces this volume; it is sprinkled with personal recollections about such luminaries as Lionel Trilling, Leo Strauss, Saul Bellow, Sidney Hook, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and historian Gertrude Himmelfarb (who is also Mrs. Kristol). Those relatively new to Kristol's writings will be treated to some of the most lucid, insightful, entertaining, and intellectually challenging essays of our time.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, Nonfiction, History, Theory, Essays, American History

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

American columnist, journalist, and writer who was dubbed the "godfather of neoconservatism".As the founder, editor, and contributor to various magazines, he played an influential role in the intellectual and political culture of the last half-century.
Kristol was affiliated with the Congress for Cultural Freedom; he wrote in Commentary magazine from 1947 to 1952, under the editor Elliot Cohen (not to be confused with Elliot A. Cohen the writer of today's magazine); co-founder (with Stephen Spender) of the British-based Encounter from 1953 to 1958; editor of The Reporter from 1959 to 1960; executive vice-president of the publishing house Basic Books from 1961 to 1969; Henry Luce Professor of Urban Values at New York University from 1969 to 1987; and co-founder and co-editor (first with Daniel Bell and then Nathan Glazer) of The Public Interest from 1965 to 2002. He was the founder and publisher of The National Interest from 1985 to 2002. Following Ramparts' publication of information showing Central Intelligence Agency funding of the Congress, which was widely reported elsewhere, Kristol left in the late 1960s and became affiliated with the American Enterprise Institute.[7]
Kristol was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute (having been an associate fellow from 1972, a senior fellow from 1977, and the John M. Olin Distinguished Fellow from 1988 to 1999). As a member of the board of contributors of the Wall Street Journal, he contributed a monthly column from 1972 to 1997. He served on the Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1972 to 1977.
In July 2002, he received from President George W. Bush the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
Kristol married historian Gertrude Himmelfarb in 1942. They had two children, Elizabeth Nelson and William Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard.

Reviews

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

a leading conservative, Irving Kristol, inspired many Fox News Channel commutators like Charles Krauthammer, Sean Hannity and Bill Kristol. Neo-conservatism is very popular approach in United Kingdom and Europe.

[Corey Astill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irving Kristol and his fellow neoconservatives brought an intellectual heft to conservatism that had not existed before. As a band of disillusioned liberals, their chosen enemy was contemporary liberalism, rather than socialism or 'statism' in the abstract. By the time of Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America, the social science approach of the neoconservatives had become embedded in the conservative think tank complex. Those ideas have guided the conservative movement up to the present day.

[Tim Lundquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of essays published by Irving Kristol. Most interesting are his pieces on culture and family life. Kristol's arguments about the modern Republican Party, and modern conservatism, primarily authored (in this collection) in the late 1970s, are fascinating reading given the (now) known trajectory of the party, and the movement.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly a disturbing look at the imperial minds of neoconservatives. This should be required reading for liberals or progressives trying to get a handle on where modern conservatism comes from.

After you read this, google Project for a New American Century's 'Rebuilding America's Defenses' report, while keeping in mind it was published the year BEFORE 9/11.

[Joana Marinho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kristol is brilliant in some of the essays, mainly those on his youth on the City College, socialism, jews in America. I've also enjoyed his analysis on Freud and Einstein. Nonetheless he was so intolerant in all cultural matters that it becomes really annoying to read his prejudices on sexual orientation and contemporary art. Even so sometimes it was a great pleasure to read this book.

[Matthew Matheson]

Argueing the World: (documentary)
Daniel Bell
Nathan Glazer
Irving Howe
Irving Kristol-2

[Adella Toulon-foerster · Rating 1 out of 5]

My eloquent take on this novel: Garbage.

Pure and utter out-dated shite.

I should have watched paint dry instead.

[Jonathan]

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