Right from the Beginning

by Patrick J. Buchanan

Book Overview

Warm and self-deprecating, surprisingly witty, honest to a fault about his political views...Mr. Buchanan has a secret weapon: Charm. --The New York Times

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316114081
• ISBN13: 9780316114080
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 392 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Great book.

Thoroughly enjoyed the book. Reading about the young Pat and his brothers was a hoot. The Auto Show story shows that Pat and his friends definitely lived a wild and wooly existence.

If only this man had been president

Pat Buchanan has been labeled everything from dangerous to nazi. This book proves that he is just the opposite: a strongly principled man who wants what's best for his country.Buchanan explains his conservative beliefs within the framework of growing up the son of a devout Catholic scrapper and the student of tough Jesuit priests. Although he spent much of his childhood raising hell, his upbringing was about morals and care of the soul. In Buchanan's time, care of the soul meant defending American freedom from the encroachment of Leninist communism. He didn't hate the Russians, but the system of government that was devouring half the world's freedom.To the left-leaning critic who is undoubtedly screaming, "what about America devouring the other half": you're preaching to the choir. Buchanan has consistently asserted that we shouldn't be meddling in other countries' affairs. He recalls traveling to Japan and concluding that we were wrong to indiscriminately A-bomb the populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He goes on to say that our president prodded the Japanese into attacking Pearl Harbor so that he'd have an excuse to enter the war. That's hardly the voice of an imperialistic interventionist.Nor is Buchanan a cut-throat capitalist. At the end of the book, he talks about an America of morals being infinitely more desireable than an America of laurel-resting decadence. He observes that democracy is by itself an empty vessel that can be filled with evil intentions just as easily as it can with good intentions. The moral fiber of our people, says Buchanan, is what ultimately defines us. Compare our grandparents' generation to ours; Buchanan's point is painfully obvious. To recapture our country, Buchanan insists we recapture education, freedom of religion (rather than tacitly mandated secularism or cowtowing agnosticism), and the Supreme Court. No arguments from me.Some people have speculated that Buchanan is a closet white supremacist, an accusation which this book shoots down. Having grown up with two black maids, having recoiled at the treatment of a southern black man who couldn't enter a whites-only restaurant to mail a letter, and having a brother who speaks of dog-tagging an equal number of dead white and black Americans in Vietman, Buchanan clearly has no time for racial discrimination. He writes about welfare depriving black Americans of their dignity, and even suggests that an ammendment prohibiting racial discrimination be added to the US Constitution. Other than the pleasure of glimpsing into the life of a man I greatly respect, I took from this book many lessons about where our new and supposedly more advanced society fails. By deemphasizing personal responsibility and blaming our problems on society, we're creating a generation of excuse-makers and softies. By acquiescing to anybody's ideas and summarily treating all ideas as equal, we replace values with anything-goes. When people don't have something to believe i

Growing up Catholic

If one wished to understand how life was in the 50s and 60s as well as to understand the mind of a genuine conservative, one only needs to read Right from the Beginning. Pat grew up as a Catholic in Washington DC, attending Catholic high schools and universities. Anyone who was an altar boy or who attended Catholic schools could identify with this story. It is a brilliant piece of writing by a brilliant man.

WRITTEN WITH SKILL, TO THE POINT, TOTALLY RIGHT ON!!

Right from the Beginning offers great insight into the human side of Pat Buchanan. Buchanan details his life from his childhood in Chevy Chase, Maryland to his days as Director of Communications in the Reagan White House. Buchanan speaks for Main Street Americans from the heart. This is the way America was intended to be. An outstanding book that will arrest your attention. You will not want to put Right from the Beginning down after starting. A must read for all REAL Americans!

A great American you'll be glad you met in these pages.

Pat gives a heartwarming story about his family, and how the family is important to childhood. This book is filled with anecdotes; some happy, some funny, and some sad. The reader will get to know the author, as well as his family, in this well-crafted book.As a college student, I view Pat as a fatherly figure children can look up to. He is NOT a hate monger like so many from the left and the media portray him to be. He is a traditional, old-fashioned American conservative who believes deeply in family values. Although Pat sometimes takes his views to extremes, he does so because he cares deeply about them.Pat is a dedicated American that MAINSTREAM voters should turn to as our next President. He is a good role-model for children, and truly believes in the government helping people empowering themselves-not the people empowering the government.Read the book. It is a good read from a very talented writer. Enjoy!

A great book by a very decent man

Pat Buchanan was easily the most electrifying person in the Republican primary. In his book, "Right From The Beginning", he explains where he came from, what he believes, and why he believes it so strongly. His love for America is clear. Whether you agree with him or not, you will respect him after reading this book.