The Portable Conservative Reader [Paperback]

Russell T. Kirk (Editor)

Book Description

Release date: March 25, 1982 | Series: Viking Portable Library

This is a wide ranging anthology of conservative thought in the English and American traditions. It includes essays, poetry, and fiction from Edmund Burke, Benjamin Disraeli, T.S. Eliot, Alexander Hamilton, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Adams and Irving Kristol.

Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books (March 25, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140150951
• ISBN-13: 978-0140150957
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Conservative Reader no bedtime story November 6, 1996

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Russell Kirk has followed a lifetime of insightful writing with this collection of heavyweight thinkers from across the centuries. In 700 pages of solid political philosophy, Kirk gives the reader a foundational education not always in tune with what we normally consider to be the modern conservative movement. Kirk draws on his extensive breadth literary knowledge to give us a collection of ideas guaranteed to turn our typical conception of conservatism inside out. After a taste of Burke, Hamilton, Toqueville, Disreali, Brownson, Gissing, Kipling, Santayana, Eliot, Kristol and others, a final chapter by Kirk himself is a most appropriate end to an outstanding collection. This is a long-awaited masterpiece for all who call themselves thinking conservatives

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE conservative compilation February 12, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

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? Read more ›

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good anthology of conservative thought! August 4, 2000

By R. Setliff

Format:Paperback

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)

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of conservative intellectualism..it does exist May 7, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

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.