The New Season

by George F. Will

Book Overview

This is the first election since 1968 without an incumbent on the ballot, and the first since 1960 when it is known from the start that both nominations are up for grabs. The New Season is a lively,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671648373
• ISBN13: 9780671648374
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Sensible look at U.S. Politics circa 1988

Conservative columnist George Will wrote this book ahead of the 1988 election for President, so he didn't know who the candidates (George Bush Sr., Mike Dukakis) would be. Will tried to anticipate the 1988 campaign by taking an in-depth look at the issues then facing the USA. And he did a pretty good job, particularly in his use of electoral and other statistics to illuminate the national political scene. Unlike most conservative journalists (and some liberal ones), Will writes thoughtfully without trying to bulldoze readers into seeing him as correct and all with opposing viewpoints as misguided. I don't always agree with Will, but he uses a sensible and witty style in these pages. This book is now dated, but many of the issues discussed by the author resonate today.

Entertaining, though no longer relevant

I don't agree with George Will about very much, but he is certainly a lot less noxious than many of today's popular conservatives. Reading this book was an interesting chance to see how a thoughtful conservative viewed the issues in the latter part of the 20th century in general, and in the '88 election in particular. Will is wrongheaded on several points, but his writing style is fluid and conversational, and often quite witty. He has a knack for producing electoral statistics that are illuminating; the book is full of nuggets of information that reveal the American mindset during the post-Kennedy elections. However, the book is focused pretty intently on the '88 election, and suffers from diminishing returns as time has marched onward. To be clear: THE NEW SEASON is written in anticipation of the '88 election--the nominees are not even chosen yet--so it is not a review or study of the tactics or of the campaigns of Bush I vs. Dukakis. The book is enjoyable and easy to read, but I don't think anyone is going to claim that it carries much weight in current politics, except for a few generalities scattered throughout the work. Still, I found it an agreeable portrait of the more intellectual segment of the conservative movement, as laid out by one of their leading lights. If this sounds interesting to you, by all means, pick up the book.