The Conservative Mind - 7th Edition by Russell Kirk (Paperback)

About the Book

The book that launched the modern American conservative movement, now available in trade paperback.

Book Synopsis

"It is inconceivable even to imagine, let alone hope for, a dominant conservative movement in America without Kirk's labor." -- WILLIAM F BUCKLEY

"A profound critique of contemporary mass society, and a vivid and poetic image - not a program, an image - of how that society might better itself. [ The Conservative Mind ] is, in important respects, the twentieth century's own version of the Reflections on the Revolution in France... [Kirk] was an artist, a vsionary, almost a prophet." - DAVID FRUM, author of Dead Right

"I have been one of your fans since the time many years ago when I read The Conservative Mind." - RICHARD NIXON

"Dr. Russell Kirk's impact on conservative thought and policy in America has been decisive. It was his writings, and in particular his seminal work, The Conservative Mind, that laid the foundation for many of the ideas that continue to shape public discourse and debate to this day." - JOHN ENGLER, former Governer of Michigan

"Kirk is assured a place of prominence in the intellectual histories for helping to define the ethical basis of conservatism. He has tried to pull conservatism away from the utilitarian premises of libertarianism, toward which conservatism often veers, toward a philosophy rooted in ethics and culture." - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Russell Kirk's The Conservative Mind is one of the greatest contributions to twentieth-century American conservatism. Brilliant in every respect, from its conception to its choice of significant figures representing the history of intellectual conservatism, The Conservative Mind launched the modern American Conservative Movement when it was first published in 1953 and has become an enduring classic of political thought.

The seventh revised edition features the complete text and an introduction by publisher Henry Regnery.

A must-read.

From the Back Cover

"A profound critique of contemporary mass society, and a vivid and poetic image not a program, an image of how that society might better itself. The Conservative Mind is, in important respects, the twentieth century's own version of the Reflections on the Revolution in France... Kirk was an artist, a visionary, almost a prophet."
David Frum, author of Dead Right
"Kirk is assured a place of prominence in the intellectual histories for helping to define the ethical basis of conservatism. He has tried to pull conservatism away from the utilitarian premises of libertarianism, toward which conservatism often veers, toward a philosophy rooted in ethics and culture."
The Wall Street Journal
"I have been one of your fans since the time many years ago when I read The Conservative Mind."
Richard Nixon
"

Review Quotes

"A fine study of conservative thought in politics, religion, philosophy and literature"
--Kirkus

"Kirk tells his story of the conservative stream with the warmth that belongs to it. Even Americans who do not agree may feel the warmth--and feel, perhaps, the wonder of conservative intuition and prophecy, speaking resonantly across the disappointing decades."
--Time

"Mr. Kirk has marshaled an impressive list of American and British conservative thinkers: men who are reacting against the collectivist universe on battlegrounds ranging from party politics to religion."
--Frederick D. Wilhelmsen, Commonweal

"Prof. Kirk has succeeded remarkably well in distilling the essence from the voluminous writings of these men and in conveying the spirit of their thinking to his reader and a style that is never dull and often exciting."
--John H. Hallowell, The Journal of Politics

About the Author

Russell Kirk (1918-1994), the father of intellectual conservatism in America, was the author of more than thirty books, including The Conservative Mind, Eliot and His Age, and The Roots of American Order. His legacy lives on in the work of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, based at his ancestral home in Mecosta, Michigan.