The Conscience of a Conservative

The Conscience of a Conservative
Cover of the first edition
AuthorBarry Goldwater (nominal)
L. Brent Bozell Jr. (ghostwriter)
SubjectPolitics, American conservatism
PublisherVictor Publishing Co. [name used by Frank E. Simon, manager of the real publisher, viz., Publishers Printing Company, Shepherdsville, Kentucky]
Publication date
1960
Media typePrint
Pages123
OCLC1002492

The Conscience of a Conservative is a 1960 book published under the name of Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater who was the 1964 Republican presidential candidate. It helped revive the American conservative movement and make Goldwater a political star, and it has influenced countless conservatives in the United States, helping to lay the foundation for the Reagan Revolution of the 1980s.[1]

The book was largely ghostwritten by L. Brent Bozell Jr., brother-in-law of William F. Buckley Jr.[1][2] Bozell and Buckley had been members of Yale's debate team. They had co-authored the controversial book, McCarthy and His Enemies, in 1955. Bozell had been Goldwater's speechwriter in the 1950s and was familiar with many of his ideals.

  1. ^ a b Frohnen, Bruce (2006). American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia. Wilmington: Intercollegiate Studies Institute. pp. 179–80. ISBN 1-932236-43-0.
  2. ^ Hemmer, Nicole (2016). "Chapter 10: The Compromise". Messengers of the Right : conservative media and the transformation of American politics. Philadelphia. ISBN 978-0-8122-4839-5. OCLC 945028632.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)