With no apologies: The personal and political memoirs of United States Senator Barry M. Goldwater (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

With No Apologies: The Personal and Political Memoirs of United States Senator by Barry M Goldwater 1979 Hardcover

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Morrow; 1st edition (1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688035477
• ISBN-13: 978-0688035471
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #294,669 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must read" for every conservative, January 25, 2003

By	"grandiloquos" (Winnipeg, Mb Canada) - See all my reviews

Senator Barry M. Goldwater in this book of memoirs provides us with important background information to much of what was going on in Washington in the years in which he represented Arizona in the Senate. I found especially interesting and informative his discussions of the McCarthy era, his unsuccessful race against Lyndon Johnston for President in 1964, and the fall of the Nixon presidency. Goldwater was one of the most vocal representatives of conservatism before the rise of neo-conservatism, and much conservative wisdom and common sense can be found in this book.

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is the good one, before he got "old"., November 29, 2000

By	Rod D. Martin (Valparaiso, Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As everyone sadly knows, Barry Goldwater -- never a quitter -- failed to quit while he was ahead. No one will ever know, I guess, whether he became senile in his old age; but as time progressed, the fierce champion of the Right became more and more the gadfly, happily reveling in taking abhorrent Leftist stands and letting the media use him, laughing at him all the while.

These memoirs are Goldwater before the fall, the man who gave us the modern conservative movement, still in rare form and fighting the good fight. Published in 1979, they include not only his political thoughts but his autobiography too (the book is worth buying simply for Goldwater's recounting of the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis, which have not generally been reported as this Armed Services Committee member actually witnessed them).

Ronald Reagan said of this book that "everyone in America should read this frank accounting of backstage Washington by an honest man. With No Apologies is required reading for those who want to know the inner workings of the political world." I couldn't agree more; and we may all be deeply grateful that the good Senator gave us this tome before his decline began.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative, but doesn't quite connect , March 29, 2008

By	K.A.Goldberg (Chicago) - See all my reviews

Barry Goldwater (1909-1998) mixes politics and autobiographical detail in this book from the late 1970's. Goldwater describes his Jewish grandfather wandering the barren west (Barry was raised Episcopalian), the family department store in Phoenix, and his military service as a pilot during World War II. Readers see how Goldwater became a national figure with his upset 1952 win over Senate Majority leader Ernest McFarland. Readers also learn his views on various national figures(including his buddy John F. Kennedy), and his distaste for big government inefficiency and bureaucratic waste. Of course, there was his disastrous 1964 Presidential bid, when this charming man frightened many (including some Republicans) with foolish words on extremism and nuclear weapons. Ironically, this book arrived just before Ronald Reagan was elected President, and as the GOP was turning away from moderates and even libertarian-style conservatives like Goldwater. Perhaps that explains Goldwater's 1980's criticism of religious conservatism and Jerry Falwell, plus his support for abortion and (later) gays in the military.

The book is informative but doesn't quite connect; perhaps that's why at this writing it has received so few reviews from conservatives (which I am not), liberals, and other readers.