A review of After the Hangover: The Conservatives Road to Recovery by R. Emmett Tyrrell
This review is part of Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze program. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for this independent and unbiased review.
Mr. Tyrrell explores the past, present, and future of American conservatism, but mostly the past. After an ambling report of the past full of inane anecdotes that, in my opinion, show more how well he knew some leading conservative figures than provide learnable moments, he provides a cursory, high-level view of his road to recovery for conservatives in the Obama years and beyond.
Frankly, it took me over a year to finish this book. The author repeats himself so much that one could skip the dense chapters 1 through 3 and not miss anything important; had I known that I could have finished the book more quickly. His summary of conservatism’s present is only occasionally interesting, but I liked how he explored the connection between many conservatives’ “Leave Me Alone” attitude and why their “political libido” (as he so often mentions) is so much lower than a modern liberal (as opposed to a classic liberal, a distinction he clarifies in the introduction). His circuitous call to conservatives to embrace and promote ideas and intellectualism can be somewhat inspiring.
Perhaps most disappointing is the way he missed the mark, in my opinion, of the book’s subtitle: The Conservatives’ Road to Recovery. That coupled with some of the dust jacket text (e.g. “Conservatives looking for…hope for the future”) led me to believe Mr. Tyrrell would share a detailed plan of action for what conservatives ought to do next; instead the reader is tossed from the table of few scraps that are old-hat to anyone who has spent much time studying conservatives.
This book would be good for any rabid fan of conservatism—such that will gobble up anything any conservative author publishes—or anyone familiar with and appreciative of Mr. Tyrrell’s style. Otherwise read the introduction, then start skimming at chapter 4.
