The tragedy of the left is that, having achieved an unprecedented victory in helping stop an appalling war, it then proceeded to commit suicide.’ So writes Todd Gitlin about the fate of the left in the yeafollowing the Vietnam War. In this book, Gitlin calls upon intellectuals on the left to once again engage American public life & resist the trappings of knee-jerk negativism, intellectual fads, & political orthodoxy. He argues for a renewed sense of patriotism based on the ideals of sacrifice, tough-minded criticism, & a willingness to look anew at the global role of the US in the aftermath of 9/11.