 The book traces Pauken's early interest in politics as a debater at Jesuit High School in Dallas; his time at Georgetown in which he was embroiled in the campus conflicts over the Vietnam War; his service in Vietnam and frustration with the execution of the war; his work for and ultimate disillusionment with the Richard M. Nixon White House, and his time in Reagan administration when he was director of ACTION.The noted conservative reporter and commentator Robert Novak, wrote in a foreword to the book, that "The Thirty Years War" demonstrates how "Pauken believes in what he says, and performs accordingly..." Novak concluded by writing that "Tom Pauken cherishes and nourishes the dangerous idea that the Republican Party should stand for something.He gives every indication that after fighting for 30 years, he is just getting his second wind."