Play Audiobook Sample
Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.97) - 250 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
David Horowitz was one of the founders of the New Left and an editor of Ramparts, the magazine that set the intellectual and revolutionary tone for the movement. From his vantage point at the center of the action, he populates Radical Son with vivid portraits of people who made the radical decade, while unmaking America at the same time. We are introduced to an aged Bertrand Russell, the world-famous philosopher and godson of John Stuart Mill, who in his nineties became America's scourge. There is Tom Hayden, the radical Everyman who promoted guerrilla warfare in America's cities in the Sixties and became a Democratic state senator when his revolutions failed. We meet Huey Newton, a street hustler and murderer who founded the Black Panthers. A brutal murder committed by the Panthers prompts Horowitz's profound "second thoughts" that eventually transformed him into an intellectual leader of conservatism and its most prominent activist in Hollywood.
Horowitz moved from one set of political convictions to another over the course of thirty years, and here he challenges listeners to consider how they came by their own convictions.
Download and start listening now!
"This is a fabulous book! It keeps your attention from start to finish with a lot of firsthand truths that will shock you. I would highly recommend to anyone interested in knowing the truth from someone that's been on both sides of the political spectrum. "
— Karyn (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“David Horowitz’s powerful autobiography details a long journey from a boyhood in the ambit of American Stalinism, through young adulthood at the vanguard of the New Left, to a midlife recognition that his various gods had failed. Horowitz’s gift for irony and eye for detail haven’t deserted him.”
— Eric Breindel, editorial page editor of the New York Post -
“[Horowitz] tells his often painful story with candor and passion.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“[A] moving, intellectual autobiography.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review
Radical Son Listener Reviews
-
" I had this book on my bookshelf for years before finally reading it. I was excited to finally read it. Unfortunately, though, while I think it's a very important book for its history, the fine and seemingly infinite details were sheer drudgery and I barely made it to the finish line. "
— Chris, 2/20/2014 -
" I glanced at this, expecting little. But it hooked me. "
— Craig, 2/11/2014 -
" Back to the 60s "
— Alan, 11/11/2013 -
" A fascinating book -- complementary to that of Ronald Radosh. Horowitz is a very angry man but that doesn't lessen the keenness of his insights. "
— Don, 11/1/2013 -
" Communism. Marxism. Berkeley University. Radicalism. The Black Panthers. All contemporary interests and affiliations in the life of a young David Horowitz. A wonderful profile of a former radical who came to grips with his beliefs and engaged the dogma around him, eventually becoming a Reagan-supporting conservative. Born into a Communist home that revered the Soviet Union and Marxism, he attended Columbia with Red professors and eventually headed West to the radicalism of Berkeley. He received his degree in English Literature and was an editor at the '60s magazine Ramparts with his, now, long-time colleague Peter Collier. After becoming involved with The Black Panthers and Bobby Seale he came to see the ugliness of the movement that he loved. He saw the faith of the Left wrapped in its involvement in radicalism (from the urban terrorists The Weather Underground to Tom Hayden's raised fist approach). He, along with Collier, started rethinking their belief in the Utopia and started the Second Thoughts movement of ex-Lefties who rejected their old values. "
— Brian, 10/24/2013 -
" Excellent round up of the radical left by a former member. "
— Joseph, 10/13/2013 -
" Opened my eyes to the many lies that society excepts as truths. "
— Adam, 9/30/2013 -
" The book has cemented my political bent. Horowitz is still taking a risk telling his story - from Black Panther activist to conservative author and radio TV commentator. "
— Nancy, 9/28/2013 -
" It is a good biography on the 60's. I am not fan of Horowitz. He is a pretty horrible guy but this is worth the read. "
— Josh, 9/10/2013 -
" This is a fabulous book! It keeps your attention from start to finish with a lot of firsthand truths that will shock you. I would highly recommend to anyone interested in knowing the truth from someone that's been on both sides of the political spectrum. "
— Karyn, 9/8/2013 -
" Conservatives and liberals alike should read this book. "
— T.l., 6/19/2013 -
" I great story about transformation. "
— Cwcost, 6/18/2013 -
" This was a bitter, realistic, and truthful memoir of the depravity of the New Left movement in America, from the founding in the Marxist 30s to the smoky ashes after the draft was repealed. I admire Horowitz greatly. "
— Moses, 5/28/2013 -
" Right wing garbage, racist, disgusting. Zaro stars "
— Max, 10/18/2012 -
" If you ever wanted to know what happened on the radical left during the 60's this is your book. Horowits was there on the front lines and has remarkable insight and knowledge into what went on. I found this book very compelling. "
— Charmaine, 7/2/2012 -
" David Horowitz is a must read - "
— Isaboa, 4/3/2012 -
" One of the most powerful and introspective Auto Biographies I have ever read. Horowitz is a great writer with a deeply introspective style which he focuses on his flaws as much if not more than his successes. "
— Michael, 3/11/2012 -
" I had this book on my bookshelf for years before finally reading it. I was excited to finally read it. Unfortunately, though, while I think it's a very important book for its history, the fine and seemingly infinite details were sheer drudgery and I barely made it to the finish line. "
— Chris, 4/16/2011 -
" If you ever wanted to know what happened on the radical left during the 60's this is your book. Horowits was there on the front lines and has remarkable insight and knowledge into what went on. I found this book very compelling. "
— Charmaine, 9/20/2009 -
" A fascinating book -- complementary to that of Ronald Radosh. Horowitz is a very angry man but that doesn't lessen the keenness of his insights. "
— Don, 1/18/2009 -
" It is a good biography on the 60's. I am not fan of Horowitz. He is a pretty horrible guy but this is worth the read. "
— Josh, 11/14/2008 -
" Excellent round up of the radical left by a former member. "
— Joseph, 10/19/2008 -
" I glanced at this, expecting little. But it hooked me. "
— Craig, 8/1/2008
About David Horowitz
David Horowitz grew up a “red diaper baby” in a communist community in Sunnyside, Queens. He studied literature at Columbia, taking classes from Lionel Trilling, and became a “new leftist” during the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956.
About Jeff Riggenbach
Jeff Riggenbach (1947-2021) narrated numerous titles for Blackstone Audio and won an AudioFile Earphones Award. An author, contributing editor, and producer, he worked in radio in San Francisco for more than thirty years, earning a Golden Mike Award for journalistic excellence.