This book was incredibly interesting. I feel like I learned a lot even though I feel like this space in the book world can be pretty saturated. I loved it.

There is an entire movement in conservative politics in the US dedicated to recruiting and capitalizing on young voters. This book delves into that world; the major players, the money, and the tactics.
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The first half of this book blew me away. It is so super readable. Spencer tracks three major players; Charlie Kirk, Cliff Maloney, and Candace Owens. I loved learning their backstories and their nuanced and differing approaches. I didn’t know about the way the money flows and the years long history of the GOP recruiting and training the next generation of supporters and pols. Really fascinating stuff.
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The second half of the book strays from the book’s thesis and ends up recounting recent politic events (January 6th, COVID, George Floyd…) without a clear connection to the ultraconservative youth movement. It becomes sort of generally about the GOP at large. This leads to the back half feeling unspecific and more of a recap than an investigation. The writing is still solid and accessible, but the topics are considerably less scrutinized and researched.

In Raising Them Right, Kyle Spencer delivers a fantastic journalistic study of the birth of the youth side of the far right and the individuals who helped create this brand new political front.

Spencer brings us into the lives of Charlie Kirk, Candace Owens and Cliff Maloney and how their activism and right ideas have helped create a youth front for the modern Republican Party. Spencer allows us to see the lives of these individuals and how their experiences helped lead them into the group and political stance they are now a part of.

Kyle Spencer’s Raising Them Right is a great political analysis that reads like a great Netflix doc!

This book is only a hit piece against Turning Point USA and is not worth your time to read. Political assassination books are so passe. Only the NY Times prints this sort of crap.