BROCK, David 1962-

PERSONAL: Born 1962; partner of James Alefantis. Education: Attended University of California—Berkeley.

ADDRESSES: Home—Washington, DC. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House, 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.

CAREER: Journalist and writer. Insight, Washington, DC, member of staff, beginning 1986; worked for Heritage Foundation and American Spectator, both Washington, DC.

AWARDS, HONORS: James M. Olin Fellow.

WRITINGS:

The Real Anita Hill: The Untold Story, Free Press (New York, NY), 1993.

The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, Free Press (New York, NY), 1996.

Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative, Crown Publishers (New York, NY), 2001.

Contributor of articles to periodicals, including Esquire, New York, Rolling Stone, Talk, New York Times, and Washington Post.

SIDELIGHTS: As a writer, David Brock made a name for himself both in publishing and on the Washington, D.C. political scene by writing articles and books that bolstered right-wing conservative politics and beliefs. However, along the way, Brock strayed and ended up falling out of favor with his one-time conservative supporters. Eventually recanting both right-wing politics and much of his earlier journalistic efforts, Brock soon found that his former political allies would have nothing to do with him. He eventually experienced a complete change of heart and wrote a book about how "he lost his soul" to a right-wing ideology as part of his attempt to form social alliances and make money. Once vilified by the "left", Brock soon found himself in the cross hairs of the "right". Either way, he has been a controversial journalist and book author whose works have both pleased and outraged journalists and the political elite in Washington, D.C.

Brock traces his initial move from a liberal to a conservative back to his college days in the 1980s when he became disgusted by the actions of radical students at a lecture given by conservative writer Jeanne Kirkpatrick, a former member of both the National Security Council and President Ronald Reagan's cabinet. After graduation, Brock came to Washington, D.C. in 1986 to work for Insight, a weekly magazine published by the Washington Times. He soon became entrenched with political conservatives and went to work for the Heritage Foundation and as a writer for the conservative magazine the American Spectator.

In 1993 Brock's book The Real Anita Hill: The Untold Story was published. In it, Brock makes a case that Hill lied during her 1991 testimony during confirmation hearings involving Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. "By any reasonable evidentiary standards, [Thomas] should be vindicated of Hill's charges" of sexual misconduct, writes Brock. Assessments of the book's journalistic integrity and whether or not it was a character assassination varied. For example, R. Emmet Tyrell, Jr., called it a "masterly narrative" that proves Thomas's innocence. But Deirdre English in her review for the Nation called Brock's book a "farfetched attempt" to clear Thomas. "Some reviewers respected its investigative journalism; but there were less tolerant readings too," wrote Jean Bethke Elshtain in the New Republic. Although Elshtain noted that, at times, Brock "speculates wildly on certain indisputable facts of the case," she also noted that he "does a decent job of showing how the burden of proof shifted to Thomas in a situation in which he, the accused, was deprived ordinary due process." Jacob Cohen, writing in the National Review, commented that he thought the book "an important contribution to the discourse about this entire episode."

Brock continued to win favor with right-wing conservatives with an article in the American Spectator about President Bill Clinton's extramarital affairs. Brock next turned his attention to Clinton's wife in his book The Seduction of Hillary Rodham. In it, Brock outlines the former First Lady's life, work, and involvement in politics, primarily through her husband's time as governor of Arkansas and then as president of the United States. Brock's account goes back to Rodham's days as a campus radical and Watergate investigator during the Richard M. Nixon presidency and traces her life through her career in law and on to her role as first lady of the United States. Upon the book's publication, many of Brock's conservative supporters were surprised and angered that Brock paints a generally favorable portrait of Hillary, with Brock claiming that most of the assaults aimed at her are actually the fault of her husband. Gilbert Taylor, writing in Booklist, remarked that Brock "treats her as a principled liberal, betrayed by her husband."

The year after publication of The Seduction of Hillary Rodham Brock wrote an article in Esquire titled "I Was a Right-Wing Hit Man." In it, he claims that conservatives no longer want anything to do with him because of the book about Hillary Rodham Clinton. Brock then lost his job at the Spectator, and his expulsion from the inner circles of the conservative right was complete.

Brock's Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative was published in 2001 and outlines his political and ideological conversion from the conservative right to the liberal left. He scathingly outlines how his former political friends and supporters willingly supported him in telling lies and spreading distortions to further their own causes through Brock's writings. Brock also discusses how he came to terms with his homosexuality and how his deep need for acceptance led him to ally himself with people and organizations that often spoke out against gay lifestyles.

"The story of Brock's ideological conversion is important, because it reflects a pattern with regard to several of his comrades," wrote Michael Tomasky in the Nation. Dan Seligman, writing in Commentary, called Brock "a gifted story-teller" but berated Brock for including "cattily gossipy" character assassinations of many people. Jill Otter, writing in the Library Journal, noted that "readers may doubt the sincerity of Brock's latest conversion," but added that "the book offers a revealing inside look at the conservative media and provides a careful chronicling of the investigations of the Clintons." In a review for the New York Times, Frank Bruni called Brock's book "his latest stab at a rather theatrical brand of contrition," yet added that Blinded by the Right is "consistently articulate and very funny from time to time." Bruni noted that the book "is valuable in its vivid depiction of a take-no-prisoners era . . . when political debate took a back seat to playground bullying and much of journalism, not just Brock's, descended to a gossipy and lascivious low."

As with Brock's previous books—and because of his own admission that his earlier books were full of lies and misinformation—political ideology plays a large role in assessments regarding Brock's truthfulness. Robert Parry, writing for Consortiumnews.com, pointed out that "Brock is getting a taste of his old medicine" as his former colleagues and even some liberals discredited his book as full of exaggerations and falsehoods. As for whether or not he lied in Blinded by the Right, Brock stated his case on the Washington Post Web site Live Online. "My book is truthful and I think that any fair-minded reader will reach that conclusion. But I acknowledge that it is a difficult issue. I had two choices. One was to keep quiet about the problems in my past work and move on. The other was to admit what I did and correct the record. I think the second path is the more credible."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Advocate, February 2, 1999, Chris Bull, "The Closet on the Right" (interview), p. 23; March 19, 2002, Chris Bull, "Brock in the Hot Seat," p. 28.

American Spectator, July, 1993, R. Emmet Tyrell, Jr., review of The Real Anita Hill: The Untold Story, p. 58; January, 1994, David Brock, "Living with the Clintons: Bill's Arkansas Bodyguards Tell the Story the Press Missed"; February, 1994, "David and the Goliaths," p. 22.

Booklist, October 15, 1998, Gilbert Taylor, review of The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, p. 396.

Commentary, August, 1993, Terry Eastland, review of The Real Anita Hill: The Untold Story, p. 39; May, 2002, Dan Seligman, review of Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative, p. 84.

Entertainment Weekly, November 15, 1996, review of The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, p. 66.

Esquire, David Brock, July, 1997, "I Was a Right-Wing Hit Man."

Library Journal, April 15, 2002, Jill Ortner, review of Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative, p. 108.

Nation, June 28, 1993, Deirdre English, review of TheReal Anita Hill: The Untold Story, p. 910; April 8, 2002, Michael Tomasky, review of Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative, p. 25; April 15, 2002, Katha Pollitt, "Adventures in Book Reviewing," p. 10; May 20, 2002, "Listing Left, Listing Right: What Ever Happened to 'Balance' in Nonfiction? A Tippy Account," p. 11.

National Review, July 5, 1993, Jacob Cohen, review of The Real Anita Hill: The Untold Story, p. 47; December 31, 1996, Rich Lowry, review of The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, p. 48; July 23, 2001, "Reputations: A Tangled Web."

New Republic, September 6, 1993, Jean Bethke Elshtain, review of The Real Anita Hill: The Untold Story, p. 32.

New York Times, March 24, 2002, Frank Bruni, review of Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative, p. 14.

Publishers Weekly, April 8, 2002, Daisy Maryles and Dick Donahue, "Doing the 'Right' Thing about the Marketing of Blinded by the Right," p. 22.

Time, October 21, 1996, Jacob Weisberg, review of The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, p. 42.

Washington Post, February 26, 2002, Howard Kurtz, "Right and Wrong," p. C01.

online

Consortiumnews.com,http://www.consortiumnews.com/ (March 30, 2002), Robert Parry, "David Brock and the Watergate Legacy."

Frontpage Magazine,http://www.frontpagemag.com/ (April 18, 2002), David Horowitz, "David Brock: Professional Liar."

Salon.com,http://www.salon.com (April 17, 2002), David Horowitz, "Believe David Brock at Your Own Risk."

Washington Post Live Online,http://www.washingtonpost.com/ (February 26, 2002), online discussion by David Brock of Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative.*