Ebook915 pages16 hours
If Not Us, Who?: William Rusher, National Review, and the Conservative Movement
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this ebook
If Not Us, Who? is both the story of an architect of the modern conservative movement and a colorful journey through a half century of high-level politics.
Best known as the longtime publisher of National Review, William Rusher (1923–2011) was more than just a crucial figure in the history of the Right’s leading magazine. He was a political intellectual, tactician, and strategist who helped shape the historic rise of conservatism.
To write If Not Us, Who?, David B. Frisk pored over Rusher’s voluminous papers at the Library of Congress and interviewed dozens of insiders, including National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., in addition to Rusher himself. The result is a gripping biography that shines new light on Rusher’s significance as an observer and an activiast while bringing to life more than a generation’s worth of political hopes, fears, and controversies.
Frisk vividly captures the joys and struggles at National Review, including Rusher’s complex relationship with the legendary Buckley. Here we see the powerful blend of wit, erudition, dedication, shrewdness, and earnestness that made Rusher an influential figure at NR and an indispensable link between conservatism’s leading theorists and its political practitioners.
“If not us, who? If not now, when?”—a maxim often attributed to Ronald Reagan—could have been Rusher’s motto. In everything he did—publishing National Review, recruiting and advising political candidates, organizing cadres of young conservatives, taking on liberal advocates in a popular television debate program, writing a syndicated column—his objective was to build a movement. His tireless efforts proved essential to conservatism’s ascendancy, from the pivotal Goldwater campaign through the Reagan era.
Largely unexamined until now, Rusher’s career opens a new window onto the history of the conservative movement. This comprehensive biography reintroduces readers to a remarkable man of thought and action.
Best known as the longtime publisher of National Review, William Rusher (1923–2011) was more than just a crucial figure in the history of the Right’s leading magazine. He was a political intellectual, tactician, and strategist who helped shape the historic rise of conservatism.
To write If Not Us, Who?, David B. Frisk pored over Rusher’s voluminous papers at the Library of Congress and interviewed dozens of insiders, including National Review founder William F. Buckley Jr., in addition to Rusher himself. The result is a gripping biography that shines new light on Rusher’s significance as an observer and an activiast while bringing to life more than a generation’s worth of political hopes, fears, and controversies.
Frisk vividly captures the joys and struggles at National Review, including Rusher’s complex relationship with the legendary Buckley. Here we see the powerful blend of wit, erudition, dedication, shrewdness, and earnestness that made Rusher an influential figure at NR and an indispensable link between conservatism’s leading theorists and its political practitioners.
“If not us, who? If not now, when?”—a maxim often attributed to Ronald Reagan—could have been Rusher’s motto. In everything he did—publishing National Review, recruiting and advising political candidates, organizing cadres of young conservatives, taking on liberal advocates in a popular television debate program, writing a syndicated column—his objective was to build a movement. His tireless efforts proved essential to conservatism’s ascendancy, from the pivotal Goldwater campaign through the Reagan era.
Largely unexamined until now, Rusher’s career opens a new window onto the history of the conservative movement. This comprehensive biography reintroduces readers to a remarkable man of thought and action.
Related to If Not Us, Who?
Related ebooks
The Rise of the Counter-Establishment: The Conservative Ascent to Political Power Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Right's Road to Serfdom: The Danger of Conservatism Unbound: From Hayek to Trump Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGoldwater: The Man Who Made a Revolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Buckley: William F. Buckley Jr. and the Rise of American Conservatism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Paid to Piss People Off: Book 3 PRAYER: Book 3 PRAYER Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe World of the John Birch Society: Conspiracy, Conservatism, and the Cold War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe World of the John Birch Society: Conspiracy, Conservatism, and the Cold War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Making of the American Conservative Mind: National Review and Its Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNonbeliever Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moderates: The Vital Center of American Politics, from the Founding to Today Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Richard Nixon and the Quest for a New Majority Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unlocking V.O. Key Jr.: "Southern Politics" for the Twenty-First Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 15% Solution: How the Republican Religious Right Took Control of the U.S., 1981-2022 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPatriotism Is Not Enough: Harry Jaffa, Walter Berns, and the Arguments that Redefined American Conservatism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Point of It All: A Lifetime of Great Loves and Endeavors by Charles Krauthammer | Conversation Starters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDiplomatic Black Hole: Conspiracy and Political Fear in Mid-20th Century America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When Republicans Were Progressive Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Real J. Edgar Hoover: For the Record Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Making of the President 1960 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Robert Pickus, Pacifist Warrior: Advocate of Representative Democracy, Developer of a Strategy of Peace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Search for Reagan: The Appealing Intellectual Conservatism of Ronald Reagan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMessengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin's Life in Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paid to Piss People Off: Book 1 PEACE Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Professor's Perspective: Essays on the 45, Not 46, U.S. Presidents from Washington to Biden Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings41: Inside the Presidency of George H. W. Bush Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAuthor in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Biography & Memoir For You
Jack Reacher Reading Order: The Complete Lee Child’s Reading List Of Jack Reacher Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Disorganized Mind: Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of Your Time, Tasks, and Talents Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Mercy: a story of justice and redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All That Remains: A Renowned Forensic Scientist on Death, Mortality, and Solving Crimes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Girls Don't Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Crack In Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Rediscovered Books): A Triumph Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Afeni Shakur: Evolution Of A Revolutionary Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mommie Dearest Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Ivy League Counterfeiter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leonardo da Vinci Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wright Brothers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for If Not Us, Who?
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
If Not Us, Who? - David B. Frisk
.e book_preview_excerpt.html َ$ב-+~P""5-,UlNURqp<="!Oo~8zO
}ЬWO%Zf۷guh23m۸lٯowSwů~Oh>o{~q*~U0S]_Cz+.>KJ?e .T]U[7c]ʎx싲_Uűg[aMQN^RW]cOwµv)=kq'-z<[|uwWڗ;Sdor]܌y
__o||TokOś}_\rEOfso؟xbpo|9~7K|c_k<ګl\oz_!H/uuG=8`|!&}eknq {Lbon{Rdr1[C=ݎUnkLա.ʹjMQM5w>U͍ljBwv$Vn\h|c_CbgG-qorv^umxXjK]5v"xݶ&ҟxXwSΣ]um*v0`i~N{+M͟8B