Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey

This riveting tale offers a mostly honest and moving second look at both the old left and the new left. I was a student at Berkeley in the 60's, and now I am approaching my own 60's. Horowitz captures our acute longing to perfect society and our abject failure to do so. On the negative side, Horowitz' personal attacks on some of his adversaries raises questions of balance, but overall a fair overview. The narrator-Marosz-did a spectacular job. One of the best I've heard. I immediately purchased another book based on his narration.

This is an engrossing read. Because I lived through the events described and remember with clarity the outrageous behavior of the far left, coupled with the timidity or acquiescence of the press, this book has not only filled in all of the blanks from that period but also sheds light on the same outrageous tactics being repeated today. If you want to really learn something and at the same time get really mad, read this book.

David Horowitz was on the forefront of the "New Left" movement that began in Berkeley and was popularized by its opposition to the Vietnam War. Even going one step beyond, his upbringing in the Marxist ideology would place him at a level of radicalism that few Leftists could claim. His involvement with the Black Panthers... the list goes on. The entire history being told in minute detail might have a slight tendency to drag (especially considering Mr. Horowitz's penchant for self-inspection every step of the way), but the necessity of hearing the unabridged version becomes clear once the details of his ideological transformation come to light. The manner in which the story is told makes it obvious that Mr. Horowitz's "change of heart" was not surprising at all, but simply a matter of time. It could even be said to have been necessary, considering the events leading up to his "heresy". Overall, an enjoyable tale, and a serious argument in favor of the general conservative mindset. Liberals beware: your loss was definitely our gain in this case.

This is an outstanding audiobook. It covers the growth and ultimate change of a self-described "red diaper baby" through his search for truth which was not to be found in the false causes to which he had given so much, including the Black Panther Party. Present-day liers about the author ignore all these facts and much more. And the story is far from one sided: the author reveals and acknowledges his own flaws and failures, including highly personal information about his own role in the failure of his marriages. Finally, the narrator is absolutely perfect for this work. His tone and delivery make a perfect companion to the content. One of the best books on Audbile.com.

David Horowitz has written a brilliant auto-biography, from his roots as a son of relatively high-level Communist parents, through to his conversion to Conservatism. He writes with openesss and humility.
From "Ramparts" to his close relationship with The Black Panthers. You will learn alot about Tom Hayden, Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, Abbie Hoffman and many others.
I could not stop listening. The "Roots" of the New Left become painfully apparent. And Horowitz's struggle with his own belief's makes for a riveting listen. The Narration and Sound are very good.
This is a very important and extremely captivating work. I will be listening to THIS one multiple times!
Thank You Audible.........Please MORE Horowitz!

This eloquent and moving biography by David Horowitz, where he takes the reader through the birth and bowels of the "New Left" movement, from the late 1950s to the 1980s, and then to his own (and only honest) ultimate conclusions, is an absolute must read for anyone wanting to understand the underlying truth and motivations behind what, for America since then has become the controlling political narrative. Since this book was published in 2001, the same force has resurfaced and gained even greater popularity and influence. Radical Son reveals the game being played again by essentially the same rules, as promoted by the same, anti-America propaganda.

Through heartfelt appeals to common sense and an uncommon, fearless passion for the truth, Mr. Horowitz provides us an example of true courage, as he has embraced his unenviable yet noble charge to expose the lies and hypocrisy of the leftist agenda... that he himself not only once championed, but led, right along side Tom Hayden, Bertrand Russell and Huey Newton, among many many others.

The author reveals how socialism is doomed to failure by comparing the grand ideals that originally enticed him with the totalitarian regimes that followed revolution. He explores many topics; from the war in South East Asia to the Black Panther Party.

I haven't read the print version. I'd love to be able to access an electronic version when/if it became available for reference purposes. It is a book where you absolutely want to go back and refer to names, events, etc.

Early on in the book, when Mr. Horowitz sheds the light on Columbia University and the New York Teachers Union being arms of the communist party, it was a precious piece of vindication for this conservative patriot. We've known this in our hearts for years (teacher's unions in general), however are continually told what fools we are by the media and public in general when we broach the subject.

The entire account of the Black Panthers and 60's radical movement, as well as Jane Fonda's treasonous behavior. Again, both are either diminished or flat out lied about when the average conservative recounts this part of our history and the ties to the communist/Marxist movement.

A pleasurable, interesting voice.

Sure, but at 18 hours in length, hardly possible in both time and attention span. :)

I am now a full fledged Horowitz groupie. LOL My first Horowitz book was The Shadow Party, which I bought in Nook format and had to 'crack' so to speak to convert it to audio with a computer voice program. I'd love to be able to find The Shadow Party actually performed by someone like Jonathan Marosz, as the computer voice program works, but it is monotonous at many points, aside from the computer's inability to pronounce many of the words. As a real estate appraiser, I spend many hours in my vehicle and the audio versions of books are often the only way I get a chance to 'read'.

Radical Son is a courageous and truthful self-examination. The confession part is fascinating, but the reader also gets a broad history of the radical movement and, within it, one radical's harrowing journey from belief to apostasy.

It IS entertaining, thoroughly. We get nasty inside dirt on leaders & criminals he got close to: Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, Abbie Hoffman and others. He explains how his former friend, Tom Hayden, had direct ties to Viet Cong leaders, how a Soviet spy once awkwardly bribed him, and the heartbreaking story of his friend who was tortured & murdered by her employer, the Black Panthers, after he had recommended her for the job.

After growing up watching the hippie revolution told on TV and in Time Magazine, and eventually seeing the 60s radicals advance to positions of highest powers on Earth, I now get to learn the unguarded truth from someone who was inside the movement.

I am grateful to David Horowitz for telling us his story (he has suffered for betraying the Left).

THE NARRATION
I love the narration by Jonathon Marosz(?). Expressive and sturdy but never "too much" -- so you don't tire of him. I listened through twice.

(Jeff Riggenbach, who narrates the other version of this title, I find intolerable.)

For any audio book, good narration is essential. This is, without exception, the worst narration I have endured. I will make note to not order anything narrated by Jonathan Marosz again. The Horowitz story is great though.