The Great Debate
Yuval Levin
Basic Books
Available on Kindle

This is no page turner, but most political junkies will probably like it.
If you're not a political junkie, it might put you to sleep fairly quickly.

Levin's premise it that the roots of the modern Left/Right schism can be found of the passionate arguments carried on by Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine in pamphlets from 1775 or so thru the mid 1790's.

Levin uses Burke - who supported the French monarchy, as the prototype of the modern conservative and Paine, who supported the French revolution, as the prototype of the modern liberal or progressive.

Levin stretches to prove his point, I think, but the book's real value is the way it presents and analyzes some of the best arguments ever made for the opposing points of view. Both Burke and Paine are passionate, brilliant and articulate.

Paine wins hands down in my mind (no surprise there!) but reading Paine made me realize that the only contemporary groups even approximating his ideas are the "outsiders" - theTea Party, the Green Party and the Occupy movement.
It's no surprise that conservatives defend the status quo, but most modern "Liberals" are basically defending some kind of status quo also - corrupt labor unions, inefficient government programs, self-serving non-profits, blah, blah, while Paine would have been turning everything - right and left - upside down if it didn't meet his rigid ethical and rational standards.

I'll be re-reading Common Sense and The Rights Of Man.
We could really use a Thomas Paine today.