The Conscience of a Conservative

Published under the name of Arizona senator Barry Goldwater in 1960, and largely ghostwritten by L. Brent Bozell Jr., this slim book did more to reshape American politics than its 123 pages might suggest. Goldwater lays out a case for limited federal government across education, labor, civil rights, farm policy, welfare, and taxation, arguing that freedom is best protected when Washington does less. The tone is plain and combative, meant to rally rather than to hedge. Though Goldwater lost the 1964 presidential election in a landslide, the ideas here outlived the defeat and helped carry Ronald Reagan to the White House sixteen years later. A foundational text of the modern conservative movement, it is free to download as a PDF or EPUB.