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Russell Kirk

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot Paperback – September 1, 2001

by Russell Kirk (Author)

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"It is inconceivable even to imagine, let alone hope for, a dominant conservative movement in America without Kirk's labor." — WILLIAM F BUCKLEY

"A profound critique of contemporary mass society, and a vivid and poetic image - not a program, an image - of how that society might better itself. [ The Conservative Mind ] is, in important respects, the twentieth century's own version of the Reflections on the Revolution in France... [Kirk] was an artist, a vsionary, almost a prophet." - DAVID FRUM, author of Dead Right

"I have been one of your fans since the time many years ago when I read The Conservative Mind." - RICHARD NIXON

"Dr. Russell Kirk's impact on conservative thought and policy in America has been decisive. It was his writings, and in particular his seminal work, The Conservative Mind, that laid the foundation for many of the ideas that continue to shape public discourse and debate to this day." - JOHN ENGLER, former Governer of Michigan

"Kirk is assured a place of prominence in the intellectual histories for helping to define the ethical basis of conservatism. He has tried to pull conservatism away from the utilitarian premises of libertarianism, toward which conservatism often veers, toward a philosophy rooted in ethics and culture." - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Russell Kirk's The Conservative Mind is one of the greatest contributions to twentieth-century American conservatism. Brilliant in every respect, from its conception to its choice of significant figures representing the history of intellectual conservatism, The Conservative Mind launched the modern American Conservative Movement when it was first published in 1953 and has become an enduring classic of political thought.

The seventh revised edition features the complete text and an introduction by publisher Henry Regnery.

A must-read.

Print length

534 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Gateway Editions
Publication date

September 1, 2001
Dimensions

6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

9780895261717
ISBN-13

978-0895261717
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fine study of conservative thought in politics, religion, philosophy and literature"
--Kirkus

"Kirk tells his story of the conservative stream with the warmth that belongs to it. Even Americans who do not agree may feel the warmth--and feel, perhaps, the wonder of conservative intuition and prophecy, speaking resonantly across the disappointing decades."
--Time

"Mr. Kirk has marshaled an impressive list of American and British conservative thinkers: men who are reacting against the collectivist universe on battlegrounds ranging from party politics to religion."
--Frederick D. Wilhelmsen, Commonweal

"Prof. Kirk has succeeded remarkably well in distilling the essence from the voluminous writings of these men and in conveying the spirit of their thinking to his reader and a style that is never dull and often exciting."
--John H. Hallowell, The Journal of Politics

From the Inside Flap

"A profound critique of contemporary mass society, and a vivid and poetic image -- not a program, an image -- of how that society might better itself. The Conservative Mind is, in important respects, the twentieth century's own version of the Reflections on the Revolution in France... Kirk was an artist, a visionary, almost a prophet."
-- David Frum, author of Dead Right

"Kirk is assured a place of prominence in the intellectual histories for helping to define the ethical basis of conservatism. He has tried to pull conservatism away from the utilitarian premises of libertarianism, toward which conservatism often veers, toward a philosophy rooted in ethics and culture."
-- The Wall Street Journal

"I have been one of your fans since the time many years ago when I read The Conservative Mind."
-- Richard Nixon

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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0895261715
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gateway Editions; 7th Revised edition (September 1, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 534 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780895261717
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0895261717
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.57 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #139,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #413 in Political Philosophy (Books)
- #495 in Political Conservatism & Liberalism
- #964 in History & Theory of Politics

Customer Reviews:
212 ratings

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3 star		5%
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Top reviews from the United States

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Mark C. Harvey

For Kirk Conservatism Cuts a Wide Swath

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2018

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A difficult read even for a highly educated reader. Kirk has pretty much every intellectual of the last 300 years in the ranks of the conservatives except Marx and Engels and the Marxists. His definition of Conservatism has a Calvinist bent, with low expectation for human nature and deep suspicion of the idea of progress. He sees Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) as every conservative's nemesis, discounting science and social planning. I read the book as a lifetime 'liberal' who truly wants to be more deeply understanding. It was recommended by one of my ideological sparring partners. If Kirk is right in his definition I am more conservative than I thought. So, read expecting to be changed. But for Kirk change is never conservative unless it is a return. By the way, by Kirk's definition Donald Trump is no conservative! Glad I read it.

37 people found this helpful

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C & L Taylor

The Excellent and Thoughtful Story of Conservative Thought

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2021

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Kirk tells us at the outset that this book is a long essay in definition. Many may wonder why he takes 500 pages to answer the question: what is a conservative? It takes that long because conservatism, at its core, is opposed to ideas that seek to level and shrink the broad and various questions of human existence into a few simplistic solutions.

It is the political idealists, the social planners, who can narrow all of the questions of policy into a tidy grid. But true conservatives have always been broad thinkers. They have understood that different situations call for varied policies.

Kirk tells us on page 8 that conservatives have always had: "Affection for the proliferating variety and mystery of human existence, as opposed to the narrowing uniformity, egalitarianism, and utilitarian aims of most radical systems; conservatives resist what Robert Graves calls "Logicalism" in society. This prejudice has been called "the conservatism of enjoyment"--a sense that life is worth living."

The above quote is a neat summary of the book. Conservatives have adopted different types of damage control in response to differing situations. This book shows the problems that the conservatives faced and how they sought to preserve freedom and security, to be faithful to the time-tested methods of securing property rights and individual freedoms, and how they warded off the seductive calls for utopianism. "Men not being angels, a terrestrial paradise cannot be contrived by metaphysical enthusiasts; yet an earthly hell can be arranged readily enough by ideologues of one stamp or another."

The book chronicles what it looks like for conservatives to ward off ideologues of one stamp or another as they seek to impose their tyranny for everyone's good in pursuit of their utopia. Conservatives' strategies vary depending on the unique philosophical assault. The book is long because we live in a fallen world and humanity has an enemy. Satan's nefarious schemes morph and progress from one degree of evil to another.

Wisdom is not content with one 3 X 5 card of principles but wisdom patiently learns from other brave souls in the past, about how they faced the giants of their day with courage and how they gained victories. The patient reader will find ample conservative courageous examples applicable to modern-day encounters with idealism.

One last thought. 8 out of the Bible's 10 commandments are prohibitive: "Thou shalt not..." (Honor your parents and keep the Sabbath are the only 2 that are prescriptive.) This gives us great freedom in life. We can have the occupation that we choose, we can marry whom we choose (in the Lord), we can live where we choose, the world is our oyster, provided we don't worship other gods, lie, kill, steal, commit adultery, and covet.

The left has the very opposite agenda. They are "liberal" (meaning freedom-loving) in the few areas where God is prohibitive. They are liberal when it comes to murder (abortion), adultery (free love movement), stealing (socialism), and have built an entire economic system based solely on coveting. But they want to control every last area of your life (for your good) while encouraging you to celebrate how free you are from the few things that God requires you not to do.

The way to combat the enemies of freedom will vary and this book will arm any thoughtful person with a lifetime of sound principles, examples, and inspiration on how to approach the problems in this complicated and beautiful world we inhabit.

7 people found this helpful

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Robert J. Allen

"The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk"

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2017

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I believe the book will be more comfortable with "political wonks" and history buffs. If you have only a passing connection with English history and political writers of both the left and right over the last 300 years you will find yourself spending much time in the local Libraries catching up on these books. That wouldn't be a bad idea, but trying to catch up on the background while reading his commentary may distract from getting the full impact of the book.

Russell Kirk was a pillar of conservative thought in his time. If you are a serious political person, his writing should be part of your education.

20 people found this helpful

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Veeblefetzer

Content is excellent; Kindle format is, perhaps, the worst that I have seen

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2021

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Bottom Line: Don't spend your money on the Kindle version, unless the portability of the work is of importance to you.

This is a review of the Kindle format, as opposed to the content. Kirk's thesis is, of course, still engaging in spite of the poor Kindle format.

As far as the format is concerned, the end notes are not "linked"; that is, one cannot select a end note for a given citation and be taken to the reference. This ability to "link" end notes, or footnotes, if you prefer, is fairly well-understood technology and it dismaying that a Kindle e-book at this price range cannot provide the same level of functionality that much cheaper (and even free) e-books can provide.

A second problem is that the font size changes over the course of the book, seemingly at random. While not a major problem, when coupled with the lack of foot/end note hot-linking, this makes this book very frustrating to read.

If I had wanted to put a bookmark at the end notes section and constantly move back and forth from the body of the text to the end notes, I would have purchased the paperback version.

3 people found this helpful

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KA Black

A hard read.

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2021

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This book is an epic of the background of conservatism. Burke covers a huge amount of history and the people that formed the present day conservative/right wing attitudes. I don't think the average everyday conservative realizes to what ends and the mind sets of the leaders and policy makers of conservatism intend. The book at 534 pages of detailed information when your reading it like a text book vs a vindication of how great conservatism is, can make this a tedious read. I'm not a follower of conservatism, but wanted to know in a factual way of how conservatism is practiced and its principals. This book did accomplish that goal. I now can understand how and why a lot of the hard line right bias happenings of our government is happening today. It to me was depressing to see how the Aristocracy of past failed movements are still ongoing.

2 people found this helpful

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Rae

A must read for those who venture to understand the origins of the conservative movement

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2018

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Kirk creates a beautiful genealogy of the conservative movement from its roots in Edmund Burke and his critique of the French Revolution through the centuries to the early 20th century. A timeless series of essays that are essential for any conservative to understand the thought that has run through the ages. Kirk is the first to put together a true timeline of the conservative movement over the centuries. Must read.

6 people found this helpful

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Donna Edmunds

This is a PRIMER, not the full text!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2014

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So the first thing to say about this book is that it is NOT 'The Conservative Mind' by Russell Kirk, but a primer on that text.

As such, it's a very useful dip into what I understand is quite a weighty tome. It's cohetently put together, and gives an excellent summary of the original text (I assume). If you only have an hour to spare and want to cover all the salient points in 'The Conservative Mind', then this is the book for you.

But it really ought to be advertised as a primer and not as the definitive text.

4 people found this helpful

Tony Foreman

Not even an abridgement

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2014

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I was surprised and annoyed to discover that this 71page booklet is not 'The Conservative Mind' by Russell Kirk but an essay by Aaron McLeod about the book.

6 people found this helpful

Pablo Fernando Campos Pimentel

Ótimo

Reviewed in Brazil on December 10, 2017

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Obra de capital valor, tanto histórico quanto filosófico. Marco do pensamento conservador. Obra que expõe pontod fundamentais do pensamento de Kirk e do pensamento conservador.

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Peter

Very interesting!

Reviewed in Canada on August 23, 2017

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Very comprehensive and with great depth and breadth. Hard to find other written material like it.

Amazon Customer

Important to balance democracy and aristocracy in government.

Reviewed in Canada on February 22, 2021

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Excellent review of 18th and 19th century conservatism in US and UK. Important emphasis on balance with democracy and aristocracy.

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