Steve Hayward also had my book on his Christmas wish list (note the galley he read had the old subtitle):
Jonah Goldberg, Liberal Fascism: The Totalitarian Temptation from Hegel to Whole Foods
Goldberg’s book isn’t officially available until January 8 of next year (I got an advance galley), but it’s worth pre-ordering. It is a deeply sober and serious book, and Jonah’s well-known wit and snark from National Review Online is conspicuously absent. His research is staggering and wide-ranging, and he makes a solid case that American Progressivism, and its heir, contemporary liberalism, rests on the same philosophical and historicist assumptions that generated European fascism. The left is already raising hackles about the book before it is even released (its Amazon page has been hacked, and is already the scene of flame wars), so buckle your seat belts, this is going to start some fights. I think Jonah is up to it.
Me: Of course, Publisher’s Weekly declared the book “hilarious” and “funny” — in a good way. So maybe Steve was grading on a high standard when he says there’s no wit in there. So don’t be put off if you fear it will be too plodding.