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  • Experts

American Conservatism

Most Recommended Books

The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek

“Hayek believed—and Mrs Thatcher believed all this, as well—that socialism was about control and liberalism, in its true sense, was about letting people fend for themselves, to make their own decisions and go as they wished.”

Simon Heffer, Historian

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Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

“Tocqueville, in a way, was the first sociologist, though that field didn’t exist in the 1830s, when he wrote the book. In it, he looks at the formal institutions of American democracy—Congress, and the presidency, and so forth—but what everybody really takes away from it is that those institutions ride on top of the morals and mores and habits of the underlying society…Tocqueville gives you a different analysis that looks beneath the surface of the visible institutions and tries to understand the moral habits that underlie the workings of those institutions. It’s really looking at the society rather than just the formal laws and whatnot.”

Francis Fukuyama, Political Scientist

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Free to Choose by Milton Friedman

“Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose: that book very much takes the view that what matters is the individual choice. The problems of people’s interactions with others can all be solved reasonably straightforwardly without any real interference with individual choice and so the best thing governments can do is back out and leave people alone to make their own choices.”

John Quiggin, Economist

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Some years before the start of the Trump era, Five Books enlisted the support of author and journalist Jonathan Rauch, also a senior fellow at Brookings, to choose ten conservative commentators and politicians and ask them to recommend the books that, for them, defined conservatism. You'll find the interviews Jonathan conducted listed below.

After the interviews were complete, we asked the panel to vote on which of the 50 or so books that had been chosen were the most important in the conservative canon. Here's the outcome of the voting, with all the books that got 5 or more votes:

Witness by Whittaker Chambers (9 votes)

The Road to Serfdom by Frederich Hayek (9 votes)

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville (6 votes)

The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay (6 votes)

Free to Choose by Milton Friedman (5 votes)

On Liberty by John Stuart Mill (5 votes)

Thinking about Crime by James Q Wilson (5 votes)

Not interested in conservatism? We also interviewed ten progressive commentators and politicians. That series can be found here. 

    The best books on Compassionate Conservatism, recommended by Karl Rove

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    The best books on Compassionate Conservatism - The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton & John Jay and James Madison

    1

    The Federalist Papers
    by Alexander Hamilton & John Jay and James Madison

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    The best books on Compassionate Conservatism - Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

    2

    Democracy in America
    by Alexis de Tocqueville

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    The best books on Compassionate Conservatism - The Conscience of a Conservative by Barry Goldwater

    3

    The Conscience of a Conservative
    by Barry Goldwater

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    The best books on Compassionate Conservatism - Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman

    4

    Capitalism and Freedom
    by Milton Friedman

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    The best books on Compassionate Conservatism - The Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith

    5

    The Theory of Moral Sentiments
    by Adam Smith

The best books on Compassionate Conservatism, recommended by Karl Rove

Karl Rove recommends five historical works that define, for him, the essence of American Conservatism.

    The best books on Simple Governance, recommended by Mike Huckabee

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    The best books on Simple Governance - How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

    1

    How to Win Friends and Influence People
    by Dale Carnegie

  • Read
    The best books on Simple Governance - The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

    2

    The Cost of Discipleship
    by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

  • Read
    The best books on Simple Governance - The Problem of Pain by C S Lewis

    3

    The Problem of Pain
    by C S Lewis

  • Read
    The best books on Simple Governance - Whatever Happened to the Human Race? by C Everett Koop MD and Francis A Schaeffer

    4

    Whatever Happened to the Human Race?
    by C Everett Koop MD and Francis A Schaeffer

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    The best books on Simple Governance - How Democracies Perish by Jean-François Revel

    5

    How Democracies Perish
    by Jean-François Revel

The best books on Simple Governance, recommended by Mike Huckabee

Conservative broadcaster, former Arkansas governor, and possible 2012 contender challenges the concept of the elite and says that faith alone, without action, is meaningless

    The best books on The Appeal of Conservatism, recommended by E J Dionne

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    The best books on The Appeal of Conservatism - The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America since 1945 by George H Nash

    1

    The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America since 1945
    by George H Nash

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    The best books on The Appeal of Conservatism - American Conservatism in the Age of Enterprise 1865-1910 by Robert Green McCloskey

    2

    American Conservatism in the Age of Enterprise 1865-1910
    by Robert Green McCloskey

  • Read
    The best books on The Appeal of Conservatism - Invisible Hands by Kim Phillips-Fein

    3

    Invisible Hands
    by Kim Phillips-Fein

  • Read
    The best books on The Appeal of Conservatism - The Neoconservatives by Peter Steinfels

    4

    The Neoconservatives
    by Peter Steinfels

  • Read
    The best books on The Appeal of Conservatism - The Redhunter: A Novel Based on the Life of Senator Joe McCarthy by William F Buckley Jr

    5

    The Redhunter: A Novel Based on the Life of Senator Joe McCarthy
    by William F Buckley Jr

The best books on The Appeal of Conservatism, recommended by E J Dionne

From immediate post-war battles against the New Deal to the rise of the neoconservative movement, Washington Post columnist and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, E J Dionne traces the growth of conservatism in America

    The best books on Liberty and Morality, recommended by Peter Berkowitz

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    The best books on Liberty and Morality - Liberalism Ancient and Modern by Leo Strauss

    1

    Liberalism Ancient and Modern
    by Leo Strauss

  • Read
    The best books on Liberty and Morality - I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe

    2

    I Am Charlotte Simmons
    by Tom Wolfe

  • Read
    The best books on Liberty and Morality - After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre

    3

    After Virtue
    by Alasdair MacIntyre

  • Read
    The best books on Liberty and Morality - God and Gold by Walter Russell Mead

    4

    God and Gold
    by Walter Russell Mead

  • Read
    The best books on Liberty and Morality - Flight of the Intellectuals by Paul Berman

    5

    Flight of the Intellectuals
    by Paul Berman

The best books on Liberty and Morality, recommended by Peter Berkowitz

The Hoover Institution scholar explores five books that he believes teach us something about how we are “failing to understand, appreciate and defend our liberty”

    The best books on Traditional and Liberal Conservatism, recommended by Brink Lindsey

  • Read
    The best books on Traditional and Liberal Conservatism - On Liberty by John Stuart Mill

    1

    On Liberty
    by John Stuart Mill

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    The best books on Traditional and Liberal Conservatism - Planet of the Durkheimians by Jonathan Haidt and Jesse Graham

    2

    Planet of the Durkheimians
    by Jonathan Haidt and Jesse Graham

  • Read
    The best books on Traditional and Liberal Conservatism - Modernization and Postmodernization by Ronald Inglehart

    3

    Modernization and Postmodernization
    by Ronald Inglehart

  • Read
    The best books on Traditional and Liberal Conservatism - The Constitution of Liberty by Friedrich Hayek

    4

    The Constitution of Liberty
    by Friedrich Hayek

  • Read
    The best books on Traditional and Liberal Conservatism - Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

    5

    Atlas Shrugged
    by Ayn Rand

The best books on Traditional and Liberal Conservatism, recommended by Brink Lindsey

Modern conservatism is being driven by an historically unlikely coalition of libertarians and traditionalists, says the vice-president for research at the Cato Institute.

    David Frum recommends five Pioneering Conservative Books

  • Read
    David Frum recommends five Pioneering Conservative Books - A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 by Anna Schwartz & Milton Friedman

    1

    A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960
    by Anna Schwartz & Milton Friedman

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    David Frum recommends five Pioneering Conservative Books - Thinking About Crime by James Q Wilson

    2

    Thinking About Crime
    by James Q Wilson

  • Read
    David Frum recommends five Pioneering Conservative Books - The State of Humanity by Julian L Simon

    3

    The State of Humanity
    by Julian L Simon

  • Read
    David Frum recommends five Pioneering Conservative Books - Losing Ground by Charles Murray

    4

    Losing Ground
    by Charles Murray

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    David Frum recommends five Pioneering Conservative Books - The Other Path by Hernando De Soto

    5

    The Other Path
    by Hernando De Soto

David Frum recommends five Pioneering Conservative Books

The CNN columnist and former speechwriter for George W Bush, David Frum, recommends five conservative books that transformed the way we think about fundamental problems.

    The best books on Tea Party Conservatism, recommended by Grover Norquist

  • Read
    The best books on Tea Party Conservatism - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein

    1

    The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
    by Robert A Heinlein

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    The best books on Tea Party Conservatism - Witness by Whittaker Chambers

    2

    Witness
    by Whittaker Chambers

  • Read
    The best books on Tea Party Conservatism - I Led 3 Lives by Herbert A Philbrick

    3

    I Led 3 Lives
    by Herbert A Philbrick

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    The best books on Tea Party Conservatism - Free to Choose by Milton Friedman

    4

    Free to Choose
    by Milton Friedman

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    The best books on Tea Party Conservatism - The Way the World Works by Jude Wanniski

    5

    The Way the World Works
    by Jude Wanniski

The best books on Tea Party Conservatism, recommended by Grover Norquist

The leading Conservative strategist and Head of Americans for Tax Reform argues that liberals actively undermine what makes America great. He chooses five books to better understand conservative America

    The best books on Freedom Isn’t Enough, recommended by Yuval Levin

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    The best books on Freedom Isn’t Enough - Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs by Edmund Burke

    1

    Appeal from the New to the Old Whigs
    by Edmund Burke

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    The best books on Freedom Isn’t Enough - Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

    2

    Democracy in America
    by Alexis de Tocqueville

  • Read
    The best books on Freedom Isn’t Enough - The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek

    3

    The Road to Serfdom
    by Friedrich Hayek

  • Read
    The best books on Freedom Isn’t Enough - Statecraft as Soulcraft by George F Will

    4

    Statecraft as Soulcraft
    by George F Will

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    The best books on Freedom Isn’t Enough - The Beginning of Wisdom by Leon R Kass

    5

    The Beginning of Wisdom
    by Leon R Kass

The best books on Freedom Isn’t Enough, recommended by Yuval Levin

The Founder and Editor of National Affairs Magazine speculates how the founding fathers of Conservatism might have been nervous about Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement

    The best books on Conservatism and Culture, recommended by Sam Tanenhaus

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    The best books on Conservatism and Culture - God and Man at Yale by William F Buckley Jr

    1

    God and Man at Yale
    by William F Buckley Jr

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    The best books on Conservatism and Culture - Mr Sammler’s Planet by Saul Bellow

    2

    Mr Sammler’s Planet
    by Saul Bellow

  • Read
    The best books on Conservatism and Culture - Rabbit Redux by John Updike

    3

    Rabbit Redux
    by John Updike

  • Read
    The best books on Conservatism and Culture - Nixon Agonistes by Garry Wills

    4

    Nixon Agonistes
    by Garry Wills

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    The best books on Conservatism and Culture - Confessions of a Conservative by Garry Wills

    5

    Confessions of a Conservative
    by Garry Wills

The best books on Conservatism and Culture, recommended by Sam Tanenhaus

Sam Tanenhaus, editor of The New York Times Book Review from 2004 to 2013, explains how the American right reinvented itself as a cultural counter-revolution and selects five books as backgrounders to conservatism.

    The best books on How Libertarians Can Govern, recommended by Mitch Daniels

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    The best books on How Libertarians Can Govern - The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek

    1

    The Road to Serfdom
    by Friedrich Hayek

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    The best books on How Libertarians Can Govern - Free to Choose by Milton Friedman

    2

    Free to Choose
    by Milton Friedman

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    The best books on How Libertarians Can Govern - What It Means to Be a Libertarian by Charles Murray

    3

    What It Means to Be a Libertarian
    by Charles Murray

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    The best books on How Libertarians Can Govern - The Rise and Decline of Nations by Mancur Olson

    4

    The Rise and Decline of Nations
    by Mancur Olson

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    The best books on How Libertarians Can Govern - The Future and Its Enemies by Virginia Postrel

    5

    The Future and Its Enemies
    by Virginia Postrel

The best books on How Libertarians Can Govern, recommended by Mitch Daniels

The Governor of Indiana promotes a new philosophy of libertarianism and selects the books that have influenced him most.

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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