In the 1950s those whom we now call the neoconservatives emerged as a group of liberal New York intellectuals staunchly opposed to communism and its apologists. Their growing belief in the moral and political bankruptcy of American liberalism and opposition to the counterculture transformed the movement into a new conservatism based on a confidence in America and the rediscovery of traditional virtues and religious values.

Through extensive research and revealing interviews with many of the movement's most prominent thinkers, including Irving Kristol, Gertrude Himmelfarb, James Q. Wilson, Norman Podhoretz, and Richard John Neuhaus, Gerson takes the reader inside neo-conservatism, providing historical perspective and many insights into this crucially important and frequently misunderstood group of intellectuals.

Unlike any other account of neoconservatism, Gerson demonstrates how their ideas have had consequences - especially on the current Republican revolution. He explains the philosophical foundations and cultural implications of the neoconservative positions on issues including the welfare state, affirmative action, multiculturalism, abortion, environmentalism, foreign policy, religion in public life, and more.