In the September issue of Commentary, Norman Podhoretz revisits some of the key events, issues, and policies that, over the second half of the 20th century, led up to 9/11 and the Bush doctrine. Despite its length, the 30,000-word (57 page) article keeps a strong pace, even as it moves from serious question to serious question, highlighting one of Podhoretz’s perennial strengths: his unflinching focus on issues of primary importance. Although the Podhoretz method may be idiosyncratic or intensely personal (the title of another well-known Podhoretz essay says it all: “Lolita, My Mother-in-Law, the Marquis De Sade, and Larry Flynt”), he is perhaps the most confrontational writer in American letters and certainly one of its bravest.

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