The Conservative Soul - by Andrew Sullivan (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"As engaging as it is provocative. . . . Sullivan's book should be read closely by liberals as well as conservatives." -- Jonathan Raban, The New York Review of Books

One of the nation's leading political commentators makes an impassioned call to rescue conservatism from the excesses of the Republican far right, which has tried to make the GOP the first fundamentally religious party in American history.

Today's conservatives support the idea of limited government, but they have increased government's size and power to new heights. They believe in balanced budgets, but they have boosted government spending, debt, and pork to record levels. They believe in national security but launched a reckless, ideological occupation in Iraq that has made us tangibly less safe. They have substituted religion for politics and damaged both.

In this bold and powerful book, Andrew Sullivan makes a provocative, prescient, and heartfelt case for a revived conservatism at peace with the modern world, and dedicated to restraining government and empowering individuals to live rich and fulfilling lives.

From the Back Cover

Today's conservatives support the idea of limited government, but they have increased government's size and power to new heights. They believe in balanced budgets, but they have boosted government spending, debt, and pork to record levels. They believe in national security but launched a reckless, ideological occupation in Iraq that has made us tangibly less safe. They have substituted religion for politics and damaged both.

In The Conservative Soul, one of the nation's leading political commentators makes an impassioned call to rescue conservatism from the excesses of the Republican far right, which has tried to make the GOP the first fundamentally religious party in American history. In this bold and powerful book, Andrew Sullivan makes a provocative, prescient, and heartfelt case for a revived conservatism at peace with the modern world, and dedicated to restraining government and empowering individuals to live rich and fulfilling lives.

Review Quotes

"Andrew Sullivan has been more honest and open-minded than just about anybody else on the right. . . . His book is important, not only because he is willing to re-examine his own views relentlessly, but also because this is a moment when conservatism is in tumult. . . . The Conservative Soul is imbued with Sullivan's characteristic passion and clarity. . . . This is Sullivan at his wonderful best." -- David Brooks, The New York Times Book Review

"A kind of bildungsroman of Sullivan in the 9/11 years. . . . His invective is scorching, and one is happy he has turned on his former big-tent mates. . . . There is the reflection of a memoir in this book, a lingering heat and passion that are the detritus of a personal struggle." -- New York magazine

"Intellectually challenging and thoroughly captivating. . . . Sullivan is blessed with an insatiable appetite for ideas and argument. . . . What he has to say about most things is interesting, elegantly expressed, and deeply thought through." -- The Economist

"Sullivan's is at once an obvious yet much-needed siren. . . . The Conservative Soul calmly and rationally attempts to deduce the malady that in barely 15 years has rendered Reagan-era conservatism all but unrecognizable." -- Bryan Burrough, The Washington Post Book World

"The Conservative Soul is as engaging as it is provocative. . . . Brilliantly exposes the contradictions of the Republican Party. . . . Sullivan's alienated eye allows him to probe fundamentalist Christian theology with impressive clarity. . . . Sullivan's book should be read closely by liberals as well as conservatives." -- Jonathan Raban, The New York Review of Books

"An adept social commentator, Sullivan skewers errant nonsense. . . . The Conservative Soul will be a success. Sullivan is a lucid, intelligent writer...a genuine pleasure to read." -- Commonweal