Taking America Back

The Conservative Movement and the Far Right

By: David Austin Walsh

Narrated by: Peter Lerman

A provocative look at the relationship between the far right and the American conservative movement from the 1930s to the end of the Cold War.

As David Austin Walsh shows, the mainstream conservative movement and the far right have been intertwined for nearly a century, and both were born out of a “right-wing popular front” linking racists, anti-Semites, and fascists in a broad coalition opposed to socialism, communism, and New Deal liberalism.

Far from being outliers in the broader conservative coalition, these extremist elements were foundational in the creation of a rightwing political culture centered around shared political enemies, a penchant for conspiracy theories, and a desire to restore America to its “authentic” pre–New Deal values.

The popular front included the original “America First” movement, the John Birch Society, the American Nazi Party, the George Wallace presidential campaign of 1968, and the fight over the National Endowment for the Humanities. And connecting this disparate coalition was William F. Buckley, Jr., the editor of National Review and America’s leading “responsible conservative.'

The book is published Yale University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2024 David Austin Walsh (P)2024 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“One of the most important studies that we have not just of modern conservatism but of twentieth-century American political culture.” (Lawrence B. Glickman, author of Free Enterprise)

“A masterful unearthing of the deep connection between America’s Far right ‘lunatic fringe’ and ‘respectable conservatism...” (Hasia Diner, New York University)

“With impeccable research and measured prose, Walsh unearths a twentieth-century history of conservatism tied to the extremes of far-right politics..” (Lila Corwin Berman, author of The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex)