Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Buy Used
$8.58
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.
Used: Acceptable | Details
Sold by hawthorne_academic
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Acceptable
Comment: Great buy on a reading copy that has significant exterior wear and/or excessive internal markings.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and .

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon .

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See this image

The Conservatives: Ideas and Personalities Throughout American History Hardcover – May 26, 2009

by
Patrick Allitt (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Patrick Allitt Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Patrick Allitt (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 11 customer reviews
See all 3 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$16.24
— —
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
$17.33 $0.01
Paperback
"Please retry"
$19.86
$9.72 $1.09
Scorched Earth: Restoring America after Obama by Michael Savage
New from Michael Savage
Michael Savage reveals why we have an infected political system, and what we can now do to nurse the country back to health. Learn more
click to open popover
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
The latest book club pick from Oprah
"The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead is a magnificent novel chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. See more

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Yale University Press (May 26, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0300118945
  • ISBN-13: 978-0300118940
  • Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #710,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsYou can't get much more fair-minded than this
By Christopher Barat on September 22, 2009
Format: Hardcover
If you're interested in reading a history of American conservatism that comes neither to panegyrize nor pathologize, then this may be the book for you. Allitt's fair, dispassionate account of various strains of conservative thought throughout American intellectual history keeps on the high road throughout, touching upon present-day debates when necessary but focusing on ideas first and foremost. Allitt identifies the following as characteristic of American conservatism:

1. an attitude to social and political change that looks for support to the ideas, beliefs, and habits of the past and puts more faith in the lessons of history than in the abstractions of political philosophy;
2. a suspicion of democracy and equality, more specifically, the confusion between the notion of men as being legally and politically equal and being equal when it comes to virtues, abilities and talents;
3. the view that civilization is fragile and easily disrupted and we need virtuous citizens to keep our civilization whole;
4. the desire for a highly educated elite as guardians of civilization.

That's as elegant a summary of basic conservative ideas as I've ever read. Of course, being in academia, I know that we've got a "highly educated elite" in place; the problem is that too many of them are on the other side.

Liberals are especially encouraged to read this book. The first step to good debate is knowing and respecting where your opponent gets his ideas from.
7 Comments 28 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsA Timeless History
By Daria Snadowsky on June 26, 2009
Format: Hardcover
The worst thing about no longer being a student at Emory University is not being able to take Dr. Allitt's history classes anymore. Luckily, he keeps writing incredible books with universal appeal that even non-historians like me can enjoy. And with his latest opus, THE CONSERVATIVES, Dr. Allitt raises the bar even higher. No wonder Booklist awarded it a starred review.

With his signature wit and insight, Dr. Allitt has created an endlessly fascinating, remarkably thorough, and completely unbiased history of notable conservative figures and movements in the U.S. During a time when merely the word "conservative" can have polarizing effects, Dr. Allitt tackles this normally controversial subject with no agenda other than to provide a gripping, well-researched overview of an ideology that has figured largely in this country's past, from our Founding Fathers right up through 9/11.

Best of all, THE CONSERVATIVES escapes the fate of far-too-many scholarly works which overwhelm with names, dates and boring facts. Dr. Allitt's book is so deftly-paced and structured that it reads more like a non-fiction "great American novel" than an exemplary and definitive historical treatise, which it is.
Comment 25 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsA Historical Perspective of American Conservatives
By CT on June 3, 2009
Format: Hardcover
Patrick Allitt had essentially given a scholastic survey of historical figures he considered to be conservatives throughout the American history. Starting from the Founders of the American republic to the present day modern conservatives, Allitt tells their ideologies, personalities and what make them to be American conservatives in a lively manner. I recommend this book to any general reader who has interest in the history of American conservatism. In this book, I find it fascinating how the clashes of ideas within American conservatism played out in history. Overall, this is a very good book that gives the historical perspective of American conservatives.
1 Comment 34 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsAn ample history of Conservative thought
By Walter W. Olson, Ph.D, P.E. on March 25, 2016
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
A dominant force in American politics since its beginning has been Conservatism although it has not always been called that. The author has undertaken a task of tracing Conservatism from Federalism to the beginning of this century. It has not always been what we today think it is. At times, Conservatism has battled itself such as during the Civil War. Allitt attempts to explain why these battles within Conservatism have occurred.

This is not just a history of Conservatism in politics, it also traces Conservatism through philosophy, the arts and even in academia. This history leaves one much to think over after reading it. While there are certain persistent strands running through Conservatism from our founding fathers to the present, there are also some discordant strands which may be abhorrent to a present day reader. Yet Conservatism persists as a major force in American political thought even as this critique is written.

Patrick Allitt provides a deeper understanding of what Conservatism has meant and what it means today. Furthermore, he has highlighted the roots of modern Conservative thought.

Therefore, I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to understand Conservatism.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsEasy to like, very educational
By Pat Gunn on December 29, 2009
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Allitt's book made the history entertaining and educational without sacrificing either. It is admirable that he handled a complex topic without oversimplification; this is as a go-to book for understanding some of the traditions of American history. It is (usually) fair to the movements it describes (although it is a bit snarky in places) and should be good reading for intellectual Americans, regardless of whether they are liberal, conservative, or something else.
Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsExtremely well written and easy to read
By Winston on September 1, 2009
Format: Hardcover
A non-partisan history of the Conservative movement. As a non-American conservative, I've always looked at the US conservative movement of the 2nd half of the twentieth century to draw my own lessons. The author has written a very well balanced history book about the ideas/persons of the Conservative movement since the beginning of the republic. I enjoyed it and above all, its simplicity in story telling was of great value. I liked it. 5/5
Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.