Norman Podhoretz, the combative and influential editor who transformed Commentary magazine into a flagship of conservative thought and became a leading architect of the American neo-conservative movement, has died. He was 95 years old.
A Life of Intellectual and Political Transformation
Podhoretz died peacefully on Tuesday night, his son John Podhoretz confirmed in a statement posted on the website of Commentary, the publication his father led for 35 years. The specific cause of death was not immediately released.
Born in 1930 to Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn, Podhoretz was a brilliant student who saw himself destined for greatness. He graduated from Columbia University and earned a master's degree from Cambridge University in England. By his mid-20s, he was publishing in prestigious journals like The New Yorker and socializing with the elite New York intellectuals of the era, including Norman Mailer and Lionel Trilling.
At the remarkably young age of 30, he was named editor-in-chief of Commentary in 1960. Initially, he moved the magazine to the left, publishing thinkers like James Baldwin and advocating for unilateral disarmament. However, the cultural and political upheavals of the 1960s prompted a profound personal and ideological shift.
The Making of a Neo-Conservative Icon
Podhoretz's break with his liberal peers became definitive with the 1967 publication of his memoir, Making It. The book's blunt celebration of ambition and success was scorned by the New York literary establishment, deeply wounding Podhoretz and accelerating his political migration.
Under his stewardship, Commentary became an essential forum for emerging conservative thought. It published pivotal essays by future U.N. ambassadors Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Jeane Kirkpatrick, who argued for a more assertive American foreign policy. Podhoretz himself became a vocal advocate for confronting the Soviet Union and was a staunch, unwavering defender of Israel.
His influence reached the highest levels of American power. President Ronald Reagan was a reader of Commentary, and President George W. Bush awarded Podhoretz the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, praising his "fierce intellect." Podhoretz served as an adviser to the U.S. Information Agency during the Reagan administration and was a foreign policy adviser for Rudy Giuliani's 2008 presidential campaign.
A Legacy of Provocation and Principle
Never one to avoid controversy, Podhoretz authored books with direct titles like The Present Danger and World War IV. He broke with many friends over politics, detailing the schisms in his book Ex-Friends. In his later years, he again broke with conservative allies by supporting Donald Trump, describing himself as "anti-anti-Trump."
His views made him a target for critics and satirists alike. He was mocked by former friend Allen Ginsberg, fictionalized in Joseph Heller's novel Good as Gold, and referenced in Woody Allen's film Annie Hall. Yet, through it all, he remained a central, polarizing figure in America's intellectual and political debates for over half a century.
Podhoretz stepped down as editor-in-chief of Commentary in 1995 but remained a contributing editor. He was married to fellow neo-conservative writer and editor Midge Decter from 1956 until her death in 2022. He is survived by his son John and daughter Naomi.
