Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation

Written by Pete Hegseth and David Goodwin

Narrated by Pete Hegseth and David Goodwin

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

FOX News host Pete Hegseth is back with what he says is his most important book yet: A revolutionary road map to saving our children from leftist indoctrination. 

Behind a smokescreen of “preparing students for the new industrial economy,” early progressives had political control in mind. America’s original schools didn’t just make kids memorize facts or learn skills; they taught them to think freely and arrive at wisdom. They assigned the classics, inspired love of God and country, and raised future citizens that changed the world forever. 

Today, after 16,000 hours of K-12 indoctrination, our kids come out of government schools hating America. They roll their eyes at religion and disdain our history. We spend more money on education than ever, but kids can barely read and write—let alone reason with discernment. Western culture is on the ropes. Kids are bored and aimless, flailing for purpose in a system that says racial and gender identity is everything.

Battle for the American Mind is the untold story of the Progressive plan to neutralize the basis of our Republic – by removing the one ingredient that had sustained Western Civilization for thousands of years. Pete Hegseth and David Goodwin explain why, no matter what political skirmishes conservatives win, progressives are winning the war—and control the “supply lines” of future citizens.  Reversing this reality will require parents to radically reorient their children’s education; even most homeschooling and Christian schooling are infused with progressive assumptions. We need to recover a lost philosophy of education – grounded in virtue and excellence – that can arm future generations to fight for freedom. It’s called classical Christian education. Never heard of it? You’re not alone.

Battle for the American Mind is more than a book; it’s a field guide for remaking school in the United States. We’ve ceded our kids’ minds to the left for far too long—this book gives patriotic parents the ammunition to join an insurgency that gives America a fighting chance.

Whether you're a conservative looking to push back against the progressive agenda or simply someone who cares about the education of our children, this book is for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Jun 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9780063215085

Pete Hegseth

Pete Hegseth  is a husband, father, patriot, and Christian. He is the co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, America’s number one cable morning show, and he has hosted multiple Fox Nation documentaries. A graduate of both Princeton and Harvard, he is the New York Times bestsell­ing author of In the Arena, Modern Warriors, American Crusade, and Battle for the American Mind. Pete is an Army veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, and has earned two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge.

Reviews for Battle for the American Mind

[Kari Spencer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very informative. As a parent of adult children, it made me regretful that I didn't have this information much sooner. But I am grateful to be informed for the sake of my grandchildren.

[lindsay p · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was both mind-blowing and encouraging. I’ve been homeschooling for 4 years so there was plenty of info that I was already familiar with, but I was riveted by a lot of the details in this book. It was encouraging to me as a homeschool mom (we don’t have any classical Christian schools within 2 hrs + distance), and it encouraged me even more as a Christian. I loved the balance of truth and grace, and the hopeful vision of what The Lord can do for our children and grandchildren through the means of classical Christian education.

[Gayle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great, EYE OPENING BOOK. Listen an learn about our schools. Then continue to learn ways to protect your children and preserve a way of life that has served us well for over 250 years.

[brian schwartz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very good and gets to the point! Must read !

[Veronica C · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an excellent, must-read book to help parents and grandparents understand the truth about the education children are getting in public “government” schools in our nation. It explains how our schools went from educating in necessary subjects to indoctrinating into activists. The author goes through history and shows where education started and how it got to where it is today.

[tony jauncey · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Utter utter rubbish, don’t waste your time with this drivel.

[Chris Brown · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An eye opening book, helped me find what has been missing, that which I have been searching for, this may be my aha moment. Thank you Pete

[Nicole Bernstein · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The audacity these authors have in quite literally stealing the origin story of “Western-Christian” morals and values away from the Jewish faith without giving due credit is borderline pathetic. Our great Republic is not based on “western Christian” morals and culture, it’s based on JUDEAN morals and culture. If you’re going to present your work as “researched” and “truthful” you should at least get the historical facts accurate. And as “Christians”, you should have a better grasp of Biblical history than you present in this book. Modern day Progressives are now doing to American Christians what ancient Christians did to Judeans more than 2000 years ago. Jews INVENTED monotheism. Jews INVENTED moral codes of conduct. Jews INVENTED the “nuclear family” and “g-d fearing community”. Get your facts and history right before you try to take credit for something you copied and then act incredulous when you find yourself being undermined by a newer, shiner version of yourself. #Pathetic.

[Hebert Espinosa · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book goes way too far to convey a simple message, which is to look cautiously at the current educational system with and make sure that we teach ourselves to our children the true value of family, God, and country.

[Joshue Ramirez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book for classical education families and homeschooling families. A must read.

[musicformovies · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Although I agree with portions of this book, I found it a bit rambling and not as systematic as I would prefer when reading. There is much that I admire about Classical Education, but I wouldn't view it as a one-size-fits-all panacea for our current educational ills. I certainly don't agree with his suggestion at the end of the book to push for federal funding of alternative educational systems; not without a lot of caveats and qualifications at least. In general, federal money always comes with federal control eventually. Neither do I concur with replicating the educational pipeline and accreditation system now in existence. Overall, I had the sense of the author grasping at a new shiny object he recently found out about - in this case - his Classical Christian Education - as the ultimate salve - for what he views as the defects in the public educational system. In contrast, I do agree with the larger points made about how world-view and, especially, how we view human nature, radically determines how we view education and the end goal of education.At the end of the day I prefer letting parents decide what is best for their children; and that children - even within a family - are different and may have different needs and be in need of different educational methods. Classical Education should be considered, but not as a one-size-fits-all as a replacement whole cloth for the public education system.