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Title: Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons
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Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
List Price: $14.95
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| Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons by Three Rivers Press An amazing jewish republican transformation | Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons
What an amazing life story. What I found so profound, was my own life experiences, in going from a jewish democrat to jewish conservative republican.
I found his life story quite compelling, and inspiring, to help me find my own jewish identity.
Sadly, being a republican is highly discouraged as a jew. It's rather sad, there are no local places in Minnesota, where you can pray, and not have to worry about being silent, rather than being a part of a good community.
Thank you, Michael Medved, for such an inspiring and heart-warming autobiography. | | Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons by Three Rivers Press Liberalism is a mental disorder. | | Michael's book is an example of what happens when adolescents mature. When one starts working and has a family to support they cannot remain liberal unless they are insane. Liberalism is a mental disorder but it can be healed with the right amount of encouragement and soul searching by the sick one. | | Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons by Three Rivers Press You'll be impressed, even if you don't agree with all the views | Heard Michael Medved read his autobiography, RIGHT TURNS:
FROM LIBERAL ACTIVIST TO CONERVATIVE CHAMPION
IN 35 UNCONVENTIONAL LESSONS and must say I was
impressed--though I don't agree with all his political beliefs.
Yet that's what makes the book so interesting; i.e., that
Medved gets you to think . . . he has always done that
for me, even since I started to watch him back when he reviewed
movies on PBS . . . his opinions were often funny, but they
were also much more honest than those of his colleague
Jeffrey Lyons (who could find something admirable in almost any
film). . . I also got a kick out of his "Golden Turkey Awards,"
presented to the very worst efforts in filmmaking.
When he described his early liberal leanings, I could
relate to much of what he said--particularly when he talked
about Allard Lowenstein, one of my political heroes . . . how
he transformed to become conservative kept my attention,
as did his becoming increasingly aligned with Orthodox
Judaism . . . and when he followed-up an unsuccessful
first marriage with a loving second one, I found myself
feeling glad for Medved.
Parts of RIGHT TURNS are funny; much of it is thought-provoking.
| | Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons by Three Rivers Press Michael Medved - A scary smart "Forrest Gump" | I'm a little puzzled by some of the negative comments from reviewers regarding the book and, broadly speaking, the character of the author. I've just about finished the book and have found little in the way of blanket invectives that some accuse him of casting on "Liberals". Yes, he relentlessly attacks those who he finds to be disingenuous, self-servers (Vietnam war protesters - driven by fear of the draft more than the geopolitical consequences of the US military engagement), angry and intolerant radical secularists, and smug self-righteous Hollywood sycophants. But Medved goes out of his way to point out the decency and good-nature of a young Hillary Clinton; the sincerity and seriousness of Barbra Streisand as a mother seeking spiritual enrichment for her teenage son; and the fact that a high-level Clinton associate, Lanny Davis, is still one of his most valued friends.
He is, no doubt, a passionate advocate for the values he's cultivated and informed in a very interesting lifetime of enthusiastic immersion in anything he seemed to stumble into. He can sometimes seem a little overbearing in his confidence and grand assertions - but I think any fair reading of this values-focused autobiography will find his intellectual and emotional honesty compelling whether or not ultimately convincing.
Relax a little. Don't get caught up in eye-rolling even while he occasionally waxes eloquent on some credulity-straining events in his apparently charmed life and you'll be rewarded with a series of amusing stories, thought-provoking observations and an overall engaging read. | | Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons by Three Rivers Press Do-It-Yourself Conservatism: A Memoir | I have been reading Michael Medved since "The Golden Turkey Awards," the book that started my lasting love for grade-Z movies. Since that time I have avidly read his other more serious and relevant books and have enjoyed them all immensely. While this isn't my favorite of his books ("Hollywood vs. America" and "The Golden Turkey Awards" vie for my favorite depending on how serious my mood is), it is still a captivating work that stands on its own merits.
While Medved is now known as a staunch conservative, it wasn't always so. Medved came from a traditionally liberal Jewish family with well-established leftist tendencies. The most interesting part of the book for me was reading about his transformation from liberal to conservative, and the lessons that helped that metamorphosis. Medved is amazingly accomplished, and knows (or has known) an amazing assortment of people. I was especially interested in his accounts of his friendship with fellow Yale law school student Hillary Clinton, and his interactions with other Yale students he crossed paths with, including John Kerry, George W. Bush, Joe Lieberman, and Howard Dean. His views of Bill Clinton, who he knew from both his relationship with Hillary and activism in an early political campaign, also show keen insights which have stood the test of time.
This book is more of a personal memoir than his previous efforts, and while I find him an intriguing person, some of the recollections of familial conflict, while important to the shaping of his character, tended to be a tad lengthy. For that I would like to subtract a half star from my score, but since reviewing rules don't allow for that, I give "Right Turns" four stars overall. The book is excellent in its own right, but is not as consistently compelling as some of his other (even more excellent) works. I greatly enjoyed his observations on media and film, particularly his recollections of co-hosting "Sneak Previews." Longtime Medved fans will also learn the answer to a longstanding question about "Muki the Wonder Hound" and the fabled movie "Dog of Norway."
For insight into world politics and issues, nobody stands above Michael Medved, the original "Cultural Crusader" and proud American. I highly recommend this book without reservation. | | Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons by Three Rivers Press Product Description | Nationally syndicated talk-radio host and noted film critic Michael Medved has taken an extraordinary journey from liberal activist to outspoken conservative. Along the way he has earned millions of admirers—and more than his share of enemies—with his disarming wit and slashing arguments on issues of pop culture and politics.
In the candid, illuminating Right Turns, Medved chronicles the lessons and adventures that changed him from a Vietnam protest leader to an optimistic promoter of American patriotism, from secularism to religion, from adventurous single guy to doting husband and father. He skewers leftist orthodoxy, revealing why the Right is right and why his former colleagues on the Left remain hopelessly wrong on every cultural, political, and social issue. |
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