Description
Book SynopsisThe first biography of Robert Welch, who founded the John Birch Society and planted some of modern conservatism’s most insidious seeds.
Trade Review"The rise of Trump, Q-anon, and a Republican Party seemingly allergic to the ordinary canons of decency and expertise, has led historians to a reexamination of brands of American conservatism previously considered too extreme to be relevant to understanding the present. This work demands a rare combination of talents: an ability to empathize with ways of thinking from which reason recoils, and a moral sense that refuses to normalize it. Miller possesses both in abundance, which is what makes this groundbreaking biography of Robert Welch of the John Birch Society so very valuable."-- "Rick Perlstein, author of Reaganland: America's Right Turn, 1976-1980" "Miller has undertaken the definitive biography of John Birch Society founder Robert Welch, and he has succeeded. A Conspiratorial Life is incredibly thorough, carefully researched and written, and enlivened by energetic prose."-- "Heather Hendershot, author of Open to Debate: How William F. Buckley Put Liberal America on the Firing Line"
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1 Chowan County, North Carolina 1700–1899
2 Stockton, 1899–1910
3 Elizabeth City, Raleigh, Annapolis, 1910–1919
4 The Candyman, 1919–1927
5 Professional Breakdown and the Great Depression, 1928–1940
6 America First, 1940–1945
7 Postwar Dreams and Delusions, 1946–1950
8 The Candidate, 1950
9 May God Forgive Us, 1951–1952
10 There’s Just Something about Ike, 1952
11 A Republican Looks at His President, 1953–1954
12 The Saga of John Birch, 1954
13 Adventures in the Far East, 1954–1955
14 Arrivals and Departures, 1955–1958
15 The Indy Eleven, 1957–1959
16 Revelations, 1959–1960
17 Goldwater in ’60, 1960
18 Staccato Jabs, 1961–1962
19 Succession? 1961–1962
20 “Where Were You in ’62?,” 1962
21 Revolution in the Streets and the Paranoid Style in Belmont, 1963
22 Two Novembers, 1963–1964
23 Nadir, 1965–1966
24 Avenging the Insiders, 1966–1968
25 The Fifty-Foot Cabin Cruiser, 1969–1975
26 Bunker, 1970–1978
27 Making Morning in America . . . , 1970–1985
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
