From a friend:
The Independent needs to read your book.
Notice how confused and ahistorical the whole thing is. The Czar, Mussolini, Napolean,Thatcher, the Hitchens brothers, Mamet, all of the “right.” Notice how the “turn to the dark side” narrative is so conveniently comforting to someone of a self-righteously “progressive” mindset. This goes to the heart of why your book is so frustrating for so many — it snags away the pillow beneath their dreamy heads; the notion that they have always been, and will always be, on the righteous side of history.