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Title: The Portable Conservative Reader by Russell Kirk ISBN: 0-14-015095-1 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Good overview of conservative intellectualism..it does exist
Comment: The Portable Conservative Reader provides a good introduction to the world of conservative thought since Burke invented it during the French Revolution. As an avowed liberal, I bought this book for a class on conservatism, intending to 'know thy enemy'. I didn't know what to expect, but the PCR provides an extensive, if limited, compilation of the major conservative thinkers. Burke, of course, is well represented, as are James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, but Kirk (editor) gets weaker as he follows the conservative tradition through a woman's perspective (he could dig up only two of interest), then stronger again with some hilariously grumpy texts by Malcolm Muggeridge and CS Lewis - I believe Lewis was the one who said, 'I am a democrat because I believe in the fall of man' - as a liberal with a good sense of humor, I found a lot to enjoy in their perspective on the 60's. The allegorical stories by Rudyard Kipling et al. were sometimes heavy-handed.
A good start, but for a more thorough (as well as more recent) look at intellectual conservatism - a group which I do believe is a minority, even in the Republican party - you might want to add Hayek's libertarian treatise 'The Road to Serfdom', Dan T. Carter's 'Race and the Conservative Counterrevolution', and Eugene D. Genovese's 'The Southern Tradition' and Angela Dillard's 'Multicultural Conservatism in America'.
This book did not convert me but as a philosophical, not political, movement I have a greater respect for conservatism and even agree with some of its tenets. Kirk can be a pretty reasonable guy. Read this book and those recommended above and you will have a better grasp of a real intellectual movement whose influence, sadly, appears to be diminishing from the scene, judging by the 'election' of Fearless Leader.
Rating: 5
Summary: THE conservative compilation
Comment: This served as my introduction to intellectual conservatism. Until I started college, my conservatism (though certainly of a traditionalist, Kirkean sort) was not well-defined, and I was completely unfamiliar with the writings of Kirk or, shockingly enough, of Burke. However, once in college, I began to associate with other conservatives, many of whom naturally gravitated to Kirk, and so I, too, gave Kirk a try. Before trying The Conservative Mind I got the reader (more because of the fact that I couldn't find the former than anything else). Nonetheless, I devoured this book, skipping from piece to piece as the whim caught me. The Burke readings, I think, are essential, and so is the Kirk piece that concludes the volume, in addition to Kirk's introduction in which he defines conservatism (to the extent that it can be defined at all). The writings in between are of varying quality, character, and density. Any conservative can surely find something that suits his fancy, though. Muggeridge's "The Great Liberal Death Wish" is a classic--I recommend it to any conservative (especially those who would consider themselves Republicans, as opposed to, say, Buchananites) who sometimes feels outnumbered by his philosophical brethren who support the free market and unregulated capitalism at all costs. There are dangers in "technology," and conservatives are rightly skeptical of industrialism and "progress." The Revolution-era pieces are intriguing and were the first to spark me into considering the true conservatism of the Founders. The selection from Michael Oakeshott, "On Being Conservative," is another interesting one, as well. In short, this is a fantastic sampling of the corpus of conservative thought and literature. More than likely, the writings in this book will send you to other books, which will send you to yet more. But that's the idea, isn't it?
Rating: 4
Summary: Good anthology of conservative thought!
Comment: This is an anthology of conservative thought put together by the late Russell Kirk. It features a good selection of writings from such luminaries as Edmund Burke, literary genius James Fenimore Cooper, southern conservatives like John Randolph and John C. Calhoun, et al. Nothing is featured though from Richard Weaver. Also writings from prominent Federalists such as John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Fisher Ames are featured. However, there are NO strong paleoconservative arguments presented favoring the American Republic over Jacobin Social Democracy. Also, this anthology could have stood to include the writings of prominent Anti-Federalists. Why do they always get left out? Other anthologies include them. Being weary of a strong central government is a conservative tradition -is it not? Kirk isn't exactly a neoconservative revisionist.
Though this anthology culminates a diverse blend of conservative thought, it is reflective of Kirk's own unique brand of paleoconservatism. All in all, this is a good "portable" anthology of conservative thought that starts with the Burke basics. I might also recommend, Freedom & Virtue : The Conservative Libertarian Debate by by George W. Carey(Editor) and The Paleoconservatives : New Voices of the Old Right by Joseph Scotchie (Editor)
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Title: The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot by Russell Kirk ISBN: 0895261715 Publisher: Regnery Publishing Pub. Date: 01 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America by George H. Nash ISBN: 188292620X Publisher: Intercollegiate Studies Institute Pub. Date: 01 April, 1998 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary Writings from Lao-Tzu to Milton Friedman by David Boaz ISBN: 0684847671 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 1998 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: The American Cause by Russell Kirk ISBN: 1882926935 Publisher: ISI Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Neo-Conservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea by Irving Kristol ISBN: 1566632285 Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher Pub. Date: 01 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $22.90 |
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