Radicals

Portraits of a Destructive Passion

By: David Horowitz

Narrated by: John McLain

Radical liberals want to make America a better place, but their utopian social engineering leads, ironically, to greater human suffering.

From Karl Marx to Barack Obama, Horowitz shows how the idealistic impulse to make the world a better place gives birth to the twin cultural pathologies of cynicism and nihilism and is the chief source of human suffering. A former liberal himself, Horowitz recounts his own brushes with radicalism and offers unparalleled insight into the disjointed ideology of liberal elites through case studies of well-known radial leftists, including Christopher Hitchens, feminist Bettina Aptheker, leftist academic Cornel West, and others.

Exploring the origin and evolution of radical liberals and their progressive ideology, Radicals illustrates how liberalism is not only intellectually crippling for its adherents but devastating to society.

David Horowitz is one of America’s most original and iconoclastic political commentators. He is the best-selling coauthor of The Rockefellers and The Kennedys and the president of the Center for the Study of Popular Culture. He lives in Los Angeles.

©2012 David Horowitz (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"David Horowitz is one of America’s most important and interesting thinkers." (Bernard Goldberg, best-selling author)

slightly older book but so relevent for today

For me the book jumped out at me toward the end when he was talking about Saul Alinsky. Suddenly it all made sense! Like a light bulb went off in my head! It is hard for me to figure out why so many democrats seem to be bent on America's destruction. Why would they do that? Well if they are Alinsky worshipers that is what he said to do. Lie. Cheat. Steal...no matter. It is for remaking America. So glad I got this book for understanding what is happening now.

Very clear analysis

It's difficult to navigate the often murky waters of causes and motivations of political radicals, especially nowadays in the 21st century. Horowitz succeeds not only in analysing roots and causes, but also to share this analysis in a way that is easy enough to follow. Each chapter focusses on a different person from recent American history, whose particular brand of political activism is used to illustrate the points in the author's analysis of political radicalism.

It's narrated very clearly, easy to listen to.

This was my first book by this author, I'll definitely try another one.

A Must have for all public school teaching

This is a masterful book about the foundations of the radical organizations that found a home in the Democratic Party and actively seek to destroy Americanism for their own version of a ‘utopian’ society. I only wish the characters had a better background introduction at the beginning of the book and their individual chapters to assist unfamiliar readers with the subjects being spoken of, however it is all superbly tied together in the end.

An Explanation for Why the Left Supports Jihad

Listening to this in 2023 after the slaughter of Jews by Hamas and the immediate rejoicing and claims by huge swaths of progressives that the Jews somehow deserved it is explained more than a decade earlier in this book.

Radically Insightful!

While this book started off a bit slow, once you get past the first or second chapter you won't be able to put it down.

Absolutely loved the Cornel West chapter. But more than that Horowitz did a fantastic job of threading the needle between marxism and collegiate black studies, feminist studies and American studies courses.

In fact, the only reason I didn't give it an all around five is because of the slow beginning. But outside of that Radicals: Portraits of a Destructive Passion is a real winner!