On Friday, February 17, 2012, Pat Buchanan and Timothy Stanley, author of The Crusader: The Life and Tumultuous Times of Pat Buchanan will be at Washington DC's most popular book store, Politics and Prose. The event will begin at 7:00pm with a talk about the book, followed by audience questions and the book signing by both authors.

Politics and Prose is located at 5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC. See map and directions here...

A sharp observer of American politics from across the pond, Stanley, an Oxford historian, has the necessary critical distance to deliver a thorough and balanced account of the life of Pat Buchanan, the controversial conservative, three-time presidential candidate, and Republican insider who became a populist outsider. Stanley will be in-conversation with Pat Buchanan. Both Stanley and Buchanan will sign books.

All our in-store events are free and open to the public. All event titles are 20% off for members during the month in which the author appears at the store.  There is a parking lot behind the store for our customers' use, but do allow yourself plenty of time as it fills up quickly.

The Crusader: The Life and Tumultuous Times of Pat Buchanan

Description

The Crusader tells the fascinating life story of Pat Buchanan, the three-time presidential candidate, Nixon confidant, White House communications director during Iran-Contra, pundit, and bestselling author.

Buchanan is one of America's most controversial conservative rebels. After serving Nixon and Reagan, he led a revolt against the Republican establishment that was a forerunner for the Tea Party. In 1992 he tried to take away his party's nomination from the incumbent president, George H. W. Bush. Although he lost, Buchanan set the tone for political debate for the next two decades when he declared a "cultural war" against liberalism and a jihad on Republican moderates. Throughout the 1990s, his radical, rollicking presidential campaigns tore apart the GOP and articulated the hopes and fears of a new generation of Middle American conservatives.

This balanced, and often funny, biography explores the highs and lows of Buchanan's career, from his stunning victory in the 1996 New Hampshire primary to his humiliating "grudge match" against Donald Trump in the 2000 Reform Party contest.

At its heart is a man who embodies the contradictions of the movement: a wealthy bookworm who branded himself as an everyman reactionary, a Republican insider who became a populist outsider, a patriarch whose campaigns were directed by his sister, a socially unacceptable ideologue who drew the affection of liberals and conservatives alike--Rachel Maddow, Ralph Nader, Eugene McCarthy, Ron Paul, even Mel Gibson.

Timothy Stanley tells the intimate story of the man who defined the culture war for a generation of Americans with outrage and wit; the man who, when asked what he thought about gun control, replied, "I think it's important to have a steady aim."

About the Author

Tim Stanley is a historian of the United States at Oxford University. He blogs on American politics for the London Daily Telegraph and has written for The Atlantic, Dissent, and National Review. Visit his Web site at www.timothystanley.co.uk.

Advance Reviews

"Patrick Buchanan, an ardent voice of conservatism, Washington insider, columnist, and presidential candidate, deserves a good biography. This is it. Timothy Stanley, a young English scholar and himself a former candidate for Parliament, brings a fresh, outsider's eye to the remarkable career of Pat Buchanan."
--Donald T. Critchlow, Barry Goldwater Chair of American Institutions, Arizona State University

"Stanley's biography of Pat Buchanan combines meticulous research, including the fruits of multiple interviews, with highly accessible prose and judicious judgments."
--Paul Gottfried, author of Conservatism in America

"The life story of Pat Buchanan offers a new and fascinating angle on the rise of the conservative Right. Stanley's eye for both the telling detail and the big story insures that The Crusader is not only fascinating biography, it is also very important history."
--Lizabeth Cohen, author of A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America

"Patrick Buchanan's ideological militancy, political pugnacity, and biting humor enliven the pages of Timothy Stanley's colorful biography. The crusader's career encapsulates the odyssey of the Right from Richard Nixon to the Tea Party movement. Buchanan is a founding father of today's political polarization, but conservatives and liberals alike will enjoy Stanley's fast-paced, fair-minded narrative."
--Bruce Miroff, author of The Liberals' Moment: The McGovern Insurgency and the Identity Crisis of the Democratic Party."

"For more than three decades, Pat Buchanan has lived a fascinating, aggressive life swimming in the crosscurrents of conservative revolt. He has articulated the cause, not as a sideline commentator but as a gladiator in the arena. He has been often written off, but as a writer, moralist, candidate, and talking head, Buchanan keeps bouncing back. In The Crusader, Tim Stanley has written a compelling, important history of this durable man and his colorful times."
--Adam Clymer, author of Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography

Get Pat's latest NY Times Bestseller: