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The Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free Hardcover – November 5, 2019
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It is one of our most honored clichés that America is an idea and not a nation. This is false. America is indisputably a nation, and one that desperately needs to protect its interests, its borders, and its identity.
The Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump swept nationalism to the forefront of the political debate. This is a good thing. Nationalism is usually assumed to be a dirty word, but it is a foundation of democratic self-government and of international peace.
National Review editor Rich Lowry refutes critics on left and the right, reclaiming the term “nationalism” from those who equate it with racism, militarism and fascism. He explains how nationalism is an American tradition, a thread that runs through such diverse leaders as Alexander Hamilton, Teddy Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ronald Reagan.
In The Case for Nationalism, Lowry explains how nationalism was central to the American Project. It fueled the American Revolution and the ratification of the Constitution. It preserved the country during the Civil War. It led to the expansion of the American nation’s territory and power, and eventually to our invaluable contribution to creating an international system of self-governing nations.
It’s time to recover a healthy American nationalism, and especially a cultural nationalism that insists on the assimilation of immigrants and that protects our history, civic rituals and traditions, which are under constant threat. At a time in which our nation is plagued by self-doubt and self-criticism, The Case for Nationalism offers a path for America to regain its national self-confidence and achieve continued greatness.
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBroadside Books
- Publication dateNovember 5, 2019
- Dimensions6 x 0.97 x 9 inches
- ISBN-100062839640
- ISBN-13978-0062839640
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Rich Lowry not only makes an original and compelling case for nationalism but also carefully demonstrates how throughout Western history and literature, enlightened nationhood was the glue that held diverse democratic societies together in peace and kept them safe in war. A fascinating, erudite—and much-needed—defense of a hallowed idea unfairly under current attack.” — Victor Davis Hanson
“America is an idea, but it’s not only an idea: America is also a nation with flesh-and-blood people, particular lands with real borders, and its own history and culture. Rich Lowry’s learned and brisk The Case for Nationalism defends these unfashionable truths against transnational assault from both the left and the right while reminding us that nationalist sentiments are essential to self-government.” — Tom Cotton
“Rich Lowry’s The Case for Nationalism is a massively important exploration of what nationalism really means, how it has been radically misinterpreted, and why American nationalism, properly construed, is essential to the project of restoring unity and purpose in our country.” — Ben Shapiro
“Anyone who loves freedom knows that nothing today is more tragically misunderstood than the vital subject of this important book. I thank God that someone of the caliber of my friend Rich Lowry has taken it on as he so brilliantly has!” — Eric Metaxas
About the Author
Rich Lowry was named editor of National Review in 1997 by the magazine’s founder, William F. Buckley Jr. He writes a twice-weekly syndicated column and appears frequently as a political commentator on public-affairs programs. He is the author of Lincoln Unbound: How an Ambitious Young Railsplitter Saved the American Dream—and How We Can Do It Again and Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years, a New York Times bestseller.
Product details
- Publisher : Broadside Books (November 5, 2019)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062839640
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062839640
- Item Weight : 15.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.97 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #951,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #502 in Nationalism (Books)
- #1,327 in United States National Government
- #3,828 in History & Theory of Politics
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Rich Lowry was named editor of National Review in 1997 by the magazine’s founder, William F. Buckley Jr. He writes a twice-weekly syndicated column and appears frequently as a political commentator on public-affairs programs. He is the author of "Lincoln Unbound: How an Ambitious Young Railsplitter Saved the American Dream—and How We Can Do It Again" and "Legacy: Paying the Price for the Clinton Years," a New York Times bestseller. @RichLowry
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate the author's insightful and compelling argument for nationalism being important for their country. The book is described as informative and well-researched.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book engaging and well-researched. They say it's a good read on an important subject.
"I am a follower of political discussions. Rich Lowry is a good writer who holds you attention...." Read more
"...It is clearly well researched and very well done. Highly recommended." Read more
"Excellent book. A clear and concise exploration of understanding the actual meaning of nationalism as opposed to the oft peddled demagoguery." Read more
"...Get a broad range of what American nationalism is about. Best book!" Read more
Customers find the book insightful and compelling. They say it tackles an important subject with well-researched and informative content. Readers appreciate the author's take on nationalism, finding it interesting and helpful for thinking and writing.
"...I enjoyed his take on the subject of nationalism and it helped inform my thinking as well as my writing (I'm a blog writer) on this subject...." Read more
"A bit academic in tone. Good argument for nationalism. Well researched. Not partisan at all, does not advocate for either left or right." Read more
"Everyone should read this book. The author presents a great argument for why nationalism is important for our country...." Read more
"Excellent book. A clear and concise exploration of understanding the actual meaning of nationalism as opposed to the oft peddled demagoguery." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2024I am a follower of political discussions. Rich Lowry is a good writer who holds you attention. I enjoyed his take on the subject of nationalism and it helped inform my thinking as well as my writing (I'm a blog writer) on this subject. Highly recomment
- Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2019I don't believe that negative reviewers here are really grappling with Lowry's argument, which is that a sense of national solidarity and of "nation" itself is both an important component of peaceful relations among a nation's own citizens but also a brake on the sort of Hitlerian imperialist adventurism another reviewer accuses him of supporting.
According to Lowry, a properly-understood nationalism respects the prerogative of other nations to govern themselves in the same way that it guards a nation's own right to self-determination. According to Lowry, the force of nationalism fundamentally dooms all imperial and colonialist projects to failure.
He also recognizes that nationalism is something of an impersonal force of human nature that can be harnessed for both good and bad purposes. In this book, Lowry attempts to redeem this concept in the national imagination so that its power is not left unattended for the use of those with less beneficent intentions.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2019A bit academic in tone. Good argument for nationalism. Well researched. Not partisan at all, does not advocate for either left or right.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2019Everyone should read this book. The author presents a great argument for
why nationalism is important for our country. It is clearly well researched
and very well done. Highly recommended.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2020I was disappointed that Mr. Lowry did not discuss international cooperation, which I consider urgent in today's world, and how it might fit in a nationalistic model. This omission seems significant considering the many shared concerns confronting the international community, including terrorism, climate change, extreme poverty, and now (2020), possibly most concerning of all, pandemic disease. Our current President seems intent on trashing traditional models of cooperation in favor of his "America First" approach.
Mr. Lowry's concept of Nationalism is benign as it centers on reasonable principles--national sovereignty, governance, secure borders and trade which is fair to the United States; other reviewers have characterized it as "anodyne" or uncontroversial. However, if the author wants to put a positive spin on Nationalism, or even an uncontroversial one, I think that it is a mistake for him to introduce his book with "What Trump Realized," a discussion of Nationalism in the extreme Trump style.
Though Lowry declares that the basic propositions of Donald Trump's Nationalism should be uncontroversial and hard to oppose, Trump's Nationalism has been loud and unstatesmanlike to start, and xenophobic, authoritarian, and I daresay, demagogic to boot. The conduct of Trump's Nationalism, if not its basic propositions, is hardly uncontroversial, and does not support the author's "Case for Nationalism."
The author does display a remarkable grasp of history, particularly with respect to ancient Israel, imperial Britain, and the early settlement of the United States, and how they all relate to the history of Nationalism.
(Review written by the purchaser's husband.)
- Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2019Excellent book. A clear and concise exploration of understanding the actual meaning of nationalism as opposed to the oft peddled demagoguery.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2021Lowry makes a compelling and sensible case for love of country and our promotion of same - toward the betterment and benefit of ALL its citizens. Failure to do so puts us all in peril.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2020In The Case for Nationalism: How It Made Us Powerful, United, and Free, Rich Lowry argues persuasively that America’s national roots lie in a culture that predates our founding as a nation-state, and that the nation-state is a most efficacious form of government. Unfortunately for Lowry, neither of those claims is particularly novel or controversial. The eminent scholar of nationalism, Benedict Anderson, made the definitive case for the cultural roots of the nation-state forty years ago. And nearly a quarter-century ago, liberal philosopher Richard Rorty, in recognition of the fact that the nation-state was for the foreseeable future not just the best, but the only game in town, warned the academic left not to postpone the fight for social justice until a “parliament of man” magically appeared.
Alas, Lowry is not at all persuasive about his other major claims, including: that the nationalist culture extant at our founding in 1789 remains the major source of our greatness; that the gravest current threat facing America is our failure to preserve that culture intact; that liberals, under the banner of “anti-nationalist cosmopolitan elitism” are largely responsible for that failure; and, most especially, that his is not “a partisan book.” Moreover, for all that Lowry has to say about how powerful, united and free nationalism makes us he does little to convince us that nationalism can also make us good, and while he may be right that nationalism is not “intrinsically” evil, he largely ignores abundant evidence indicating that his brand of cultural nationalism is singularly vulnerable to appropriation by evil actors.
To be clear: Lowry’s is a partisan book. He tries simultaneously to distance the increasingly populist American conservative movement from some right-wing nationalist sins like racism and militarism, while soft peddling others like intolerance of dissent, and excusing altogether nationalist sins like forced resettlement of indigenous populations on the grounds that the wicked means employed are justified by the glorious ends they achieve. For those seeking a more nuanced and scholarly defense of cultural nationalism, Anderson’s Imagined Communities wears well. Or if you’d like to hear from partisans on the other side of the issue, Anatole Lieven’s America Right or Wrong is very good on the dangers of cultural nationalism, while Fintan O’Toole’s The Politics of Pain is a quirky, insightful, alternately hilarious and deeply disturbing account of the faux nationalist Brexiteers. And for a deep dive into the connections between the rise of malign nationalism and breakdown of trust in society, William Davies’ Nervous States is eye-opening.
Top reviews from other countries
- Joseph MyrenReviewed in Canada on May 22, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME
AWESOME