"At the risk of biting the hand that feeds him, acclaimed playwrightDavid Mamet has written a new book likely to enflame the liberal audience that has embraced him since his rise to fame with 1984's "Glengarry Glen Ross."
On the cover of "The Secret Knowledge On the Dismantling of American Culture," Mamet proclaims: "The struggle of the Left to rationalize its positions is an intolerable Sisyphean burden. I speak as a reformed Liberal."
Mamet, 63, who grew up the son of liberal Jewish immigrants in Chicago, came to his conversion late in life -- he says he spoke to his first conservatives at age 60 -- and got his schooling from folks like Shelby Steele and Glenn Beck.
"I didn't think about the world before," Mamet told ABC News.com. "I just didn't and I started to think about it. Where does money come from? What's free trade? Capitalism? How do people do business? The understanding that I came up with is we get money from fulfilling the needs of others."
For years, Mamet has entertained us. After earning a place as one of the country's top dramatists for plays "American Buffalo,""Speed the Plow" and the Pulitizer-Prize-winning "Glengarry Glen Ross," Mamet began writing screenplays ("The Untouchables," "The Verdict") and directing features ("Homicide," "State and Main") for Hollywood.
Now he's taking on Hollywood in his new book. "Less and less movies are made every year," he said. "California has taxed the movie businesses away. And it's a damn shame. It's a great biz."
Mamet isn't worried about alienating some of his audience with his new beliefs.
"My responsiblity is to entertain them," he said. "It's not my job to manipulate them, even if I knew how by catering to a political belief..."
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