Garry Wills investigates the intellectual and moral foundations of American conservatism by examining his own evolution away from the movement. The author, a prominent political commentator and historian, utilizes his personal history within the National Review circle to critique the ideological rigidity he observed during the mid-twentieth century. By contrasting his early adherence to traditionalist doctrines with his later skepticism, Wills provides a framework for understanding the internal contradictions of the conservative movement.

Critics and political scholars often cite this work as a significant primary source for understanding the intellectual climate of the American Right during the 1960s and 1970s. Readers frequently note the dense, reflective nature of the prose, which serves as both a memoir and a philosophical deconstruction of political identity.