With Americans looking towards Republicans to preserve our freedom and liberty this November, right-wing pundits are racing to publish their blueprints for a conservative victory.

What if the book every conservative needs to read was published fifty years ago?

At only 100 pages, The Conscience of a Conservative has inspired conservatives for decades, yet there has been no revival of this book in the recent groundswell of conservative thought in the United States.

Written by Barry Goldwater in 1960, The Conscience of a Conservative built momentum for his unsuccessful 1964 presidential election. He may have lost that election, but the influence of his legacy continues to shape the conservative movement.

This classic political book should be required reading for anyone who attends a Tea Party. Goldwater’s slim manifesto still accurately explains our philosophy and political movement.

Far too many conservatives struggle to articulate why he or she identifies with the movement. It’s easy to express what we’re against: higher taxes, big government programs, the welfare state, and intrusion into our private lives. But what do we support? What does it mean to be a conservative?

Writing in a similar era when Republicans were also painted as the “party of no,” Goldwater opens his book by defining conservatism. He writes:

…the Conservative looks upon politics as the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order.

He also explains the difference between conservatives and liberals:

The root difference between the Conservatives and the Liberals of today is that Conservatives take account of the whole man, while the Liberals tend to look only at the material side of man’s nature. The conservative believes that man is, in part, an economic, an animal creature; but that he is also a spiritual creature with spiritual need spiritual desires. What is more, these needs and desires reflect the superior side of man’s nature, and thus take precedence over his economic wants. Conservatism therefore looks upon the enhancement of man’s spiritual nature as the primary concern of political philosophy. Liberals, on the other hand—in the name of a concern for “human beings” –regard the satisfaction of economic wants as the dominant mission of society. They are moreover, in a hurry. So that their characteristic approach is to harness the society’s political and economic forces into a collective effort to compel “progress.” In this approach, I believe they fight against Nature.

Goldwater outlines the three aspects of what a conservative believes. All three should be memorized and understood by anyone claiming the label of conservative.

1. Every person is a unique member of human species.

“The Conservative knows that to regard man as part of an undifferentiated mass is to consign him to ultimate slavery.”

2. The economic and spiritual are “inextricably intertwined.

“He cannot be economically free, or even economically efficient, if he is enslaved politically; conversely, man’s political freedom is illusory if he is dependent for his economic needs on the State.”

3. Each individual is responsible for his or her own material and spiritual development.

“The choices that govern his life are choices that he must make; they cannot be made by any other human being, or by a collectivity of human beings.”

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Given the popularity of the punditry to release books with a blueprint for taking back America, I fully expected R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.’s After the Hangover: The Conservatives’ Road to Recovery to follow the pattern set out by Sean Hannity and Newt Gingrich.

While he does devote a few chapters to the his ideas towards a conservative ascendancy, Tyrrell writes a part history, part memoirs of observing and participating in the conservative movement since the 1960s.

Having grown up in the conservative movement, I know my history loosely, but only lately have I focused on the philosophical roots and history of the movement. Tyrrell’s book aligns more closely with Levin’s Liberty and Tyranny and Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism.

As a colleague of William F. Buckley, Tyrrell has spent the last few decades at the center of the vast right-wing conspiracy. His tightly written book with the occasional snarky comment is a fascinating read. He details the difference between a liberal and modern-day progressive Liberal, and a conservatives as the modern version of a classical liberal.

Having worked in the philanthropy field for a number of years, I appreciated his focus on the development of think tanks in the movement. Since I’ve worked with a number of these in the past, it was fascinating to see how they were developed.

Tyrrell doesn’t mince words when he dislikes someone or something. He correctly asserts repeatedly that conservatism worked in the past because conservatives worked together. Now, writers, pundits, personalities, bloggers, journalists, etc. are willing to attack friends and colleagues to get ahead. In order to make the current groundswell last, we need to collaborate not fight.

Not surprisingly, Tyrrell goes after what he calls “RCs” (reformed conservatives). The ones who jumped ship in 2008 and are now slowly crawling back. At the top of his list: David Frum and David Brooks (whom he calls the Davidians), Christopher Buckley and Ross Douthat.

My favorite part of After the Hangover was Tyrrell’s focus on the engaging in the culture war. As he describes, Democrats have greater political libido and will wage a war on all fronts. Conservatives have completely disengaged in popular culture. While counter-culture movements are emerging thanks to the web, the right purposely chose not to take action.

Tyrrell describes how President Reagan was warned that movement conservatives needed to get beyond politics to win the hearts and minds of Americans, but the Reagan White House and conservative leaders decided not to pursue cultural outreach.

This has led to a stranglehold of culture by the left, which is why Hollywood, music, books, entertainment and the news media are all left-wing. Conservatives missed their shot to get involved.

I’d highly recommend this entertaining and informative book. It fills the niches of memoirs, history and political analysis.

Per compliance with the FTC, I agreed to review this book for Thomas Nelson Publishing through BookSneeze. In return, they provided a complimentary copy.

What makes a writer? Whether you’re a teenager pouring your heart into a journal or a cynical editorial writer, the personality type that must document with the written word is unique. Croupier, a 1998 Clive Owen film, captures the perspective of a writer. In one of my favorite scenes, Owen’s character, Jack, describes his desire to write while riding the Tube. (From the screenplay):

JACK stands, with an unlit cigarette, in a crowded moving train. He looks at the faces, MEN and WOMEN. He sees PEOPLE reading books. He looks at the TITLES: Romantic fiction, Classics, Business Management, Thrillers, Self-Help, Cooking….

JACK’S VOICE
Jack imagined people reading his book. One day he would enter their heads, play with their imaginations, test their feelings…

Writing to advocate for a cause or political writing is perhaps the height of playing with readers’ emotions and imaginations. Mary Pipher makes an interesting argument that writing can invoke social change in her book, Writing to Change the World. While the written word won’t feed hungry people or stop bullets, it can alter behaviors that make those changes. She writes from a solidly liberal perspective, but her book was informative and offered practical guidelines and suggestions on become a better advocacy writer. If you write for advocacy or political causes, professionally or not, I’d recommend it.

However, her book prompted more questions than answers for me, particularly about bias and perspective.

Even in her quest to be unbiased, Pipher’s liberal attitude showed through her writing. In one story, she shares how a friend from a writer’s group revealed that she was a Republican after the group had met for more than a year. Rather than just accept that her friend arrived at different political opinions than she did, Pipher had to justify the friend’s political persuasion by extraneous forces: the friend came from a “military family” and married a “very conservative man.” It wasn’t enough to simply accept that this woman had a different worldview.

Even Pipher’s examples show her inherent bias. Early on, she acknowledges that she’s tried to not be partisan, but her examples and sources reveal her preferences. She frequently rallies against the Patriot Act (which I agree with but wonder how she felt when that was reauthorized under a Democratic majority?) and uses environmental advocacy examples.

Her examples made me wonder how readers react when reading my blog.

My blog and Pipher’s book are two different mediums. By the title, you can tell what my opinions are going to be, and I never couch them under neutrality. Pipher’s book suggests a neutral tone. Is it possible to be neutral and objective? I used to think that it was, but I’m not so sure anymore.

So much feeds into our biases. The source of our news, our backgrounds, education, friends, interests and religious views. Dan Lehr, a blogger at the ABC-affiliate in Chattanooga, is constantly encouraging conservatives to be more open-minded and regularly sends me links via Twitter to David Frum columns. I usually laugh and tell him that only liberals take Frum seriously (as Red State explains, he’s a Polite Company Conservative. The worse kind. I used to be one and couldn’t handle it any longer.), but I understand his goal. In our media-saturated environment, liberals primarily use liberal sources (as evidenced by Pipher’s book), and conservatives only read conservative sources.

However, many of the comments I get from readers are ones telling me to not be so opinionated or self-assured. One of my favorite comments came when Washingtonian.com profiled me. A person commented, “Adrienne Royer has decided opinions and knows how to express them.”

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The May list is a little different than April. I’m cycling a few books off and making it shorter. May is just as busy as April was, and I’m already a week into the month.

Liberal Fascism, Jonah Goldberg
This is the best book that I’ve read in a while. I love studying political movements. I’m determined to finish this book quickly. I appreciate Goldberg’s sarcastic writing style. Sarcasm is under-appreciated in our society. It’s not dense, but it’s long. There’s a lot of material in each chapter, and most of it is completely unfamiliar. Having attended a Christian elementary and high school, I’m familiar with many of these concepts since history was taught with a Judeo-Christian worldview. However, Goldberg’s book shocks because it exposes so many different perspectives.

The Road to Serfdom, F.A. Hayek
There might be an impromptu book club around this. It’s on Read to Lead and is a conservative classic.

After the Hangover, R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.
A few weeks ago, I discovered BookSneeze through Thomas Nelson Publishing. They give bloggers free copies of books in exchange for reviews. The only problem is that you can only get one book at a time. I’ve also seen numerous reviews of this book lately, so I’m excited to read it.
Completed May 17, 2010

Spoken from the Heart, Laura Bush
I’ve been waiting for the release of this book. Reading the reviews, it should be good.

Sign Me Up! A Marketer’s Guide To Email Newsletters that Build Relationships and Boost Sales, Blumberg, et al. &
The Truth About Email Marketing, Simms Jenkins
These are a priority this month. In a previous post Mr. Jenkins was nice enough to comment here, so I look forward to reading his book!
Sign Me Up! Completed: May 9, 2010

Writing to Change the World, Mary Pipher
I keep wanting to start this, but other things happen. I will read this book in May.
Completed: May 16, 2010

Conscious of a Conservative, Barry Goldwater
This is another conservative classic that’s been on my reading list for a while. It’s also on Read to Lead. Today, Goldwater’s classic was on clearance at Barnes & Noble. Clearance stickers and books make a dangerous combination.
Completed: May 8, 2010

Were I already not overwhelmed with books, I would have picked up Carrie Fisher’s biography because it looks hilarious, and the new biography on Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir. Boleyn is a fascinating character, and biographers have only recently given her attention. Last year, I read a biography from the 70s that essentially chronicled her through the spin that Henry VIII created during her trial and death. I’ve also read newer biographies of Elizabeth I that have been much more sympathetic to her mother. Weir’s perspective looks interesting.

If anyone ever gets the impression that I’m a stuffy high-brow conservative, who only reads biographies and political books, rest assured that my taste is also middle America plebeian. Earlier, I penciled in the release of Dead in the Family, the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel by Charlaine Harris, on my calendar. I ran to Target when it was released on Tuesday and bought it. I only have about 30 more pages to read. I try to feed the brain with more “smart books,” but who can resist the occasional fun novel?
Completed May 7, 2010

Surprisingly, Dee Dee Myers, the first female White House spokesperson, presents a fair and reasonable explanation of feminism in this book, Why Women Should Rule the World. With the exception of the first chapter, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s conversational and entertaining. She’s not preachy with her views and shares interesting insights into the Clinton White House.

I obviously disagree with her on abortion and economic issues, but Myers mostly includes common-sense solutions to our problems. She acknowledges the we don’t have to reach parity in every. single. job. field. to achieve balance in the working world as the recent Shriver Report recommends. Myers also approaches the issue as a woman who appears to have actually worked in the real world and likes men (unlike many of her peers in this field). I actually agreed with her on some points, such as her chapter on “The Confidence Gap.”

Myers does a good job of demonstrating that a third way is possible in the mommywars. After leaving the White House, she was able to carve out a career of public speaking, punditry and writing. Now that isn’t available to most women, but technology has dramatically altered the way that we view work. I truly believe that much of the hyped mommywars will be insignificant within the next decade. Offices are much more flexible for men and women, and working from home, telecommuting, flex time and alternative schedules will be the norm in the coming years.

She also devotes time to explore ways to stop the gap in science, technology, engineering and math fields. (In a previous job, I worked extensively on this issue, so I follow it closely.) Myers presents interesting facts that I had not seen.

Myers shares that people who think with both spheres of their brain are overwhelmingly likely to go into liberal arts. Since the majority of women think with both sides of the brain, they are more drawn to psychology, history, art, English, etc.

There’s also research that women are drawn to “people-focused” careers because our brains are wired for discussion and empathy. Because science is presented to kids as stark, boring and lonely, women aren’t drawn to it. Meyer’s shares an idea that would feasibly work:

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Having strong roots in the South, Southern fiction is one of my favorite genres. Kaye Gibbons’ Charms for the Easy Life is my absolute favorite book. I read my first copy so many times that it fell apart. Reading Rebecca Wells novels (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) is similar to listening to my mom tell stories about growing up in 1960s southern Louisiana. (I think they grew up in Baton Rouge at the same time.) Mary Kay Andrews writes hilarious tales based in Georgia, and Cold Sassy Tree and Leaving Cold Sassy by Olive Ann Burns are a heart-warming classics.

With those preferences in mind, I thought that I would love The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. Not so much.

I enjoyed the quirky characters. Every book about the South has quirky characters. (FYI: normal, boring people do exist in the South. Just not many of them.) The rich theme of female friendship is also authentic. However, the book seemed too shallow to be dealing with so many heavy issues. It was as though the author tried to combine the deep issues that Gibbons always masterfully tackles with the light-hearted capers of Mary Kay Andrews. Rebecca Wells is the only author that I’ve read who is capable of handling both levels of sadness and laughter.

The Mermaid Chair shares a middle-aged woman’s journey during a miserable mid-life crisis. She grew up on a fictional island off the coast of South Carolina, which is extremely similar to Cumberland Island, Georgia where my family used to camp when I was growing up. Stuck and bored in her marriage as a new empty nester, Jessie is called back to the island to deal with her apparently insane mother. Her mother works as a cook in a nearby monastery, and mystical Catholicism is woven throughout the novel.

Many of Jessie’s problems stem from her father’s mysterious death when she was seven. Soon after she arrives to take care of her mother, she finds clues that the story she was told isn’t accurate. Through the process, she’s tempted to fall in love with a monk, explore her own life and depression through her artwork and work through through her mother’s mental problems.

If you want a heavy beach or gym read, I’d recommend it. If you like books that leave you unsettled and disturbed, this is also for you.

At the beginning of April, I shared my rather optimistic reading list and was surprised by the comments. There seems to be a correlation between bloggers and impulsive book buying!

Since I got enthusiastic feedback on that post, I decided to continue it. At the beginning of the month, I’ll post my upcoming reading list.

April was a bad month to attempt to read 19 books. Between a family visit, a cake decorating class and volunteering, I didn’t have very much free time to read. I did finish all but one of my half-way read books and polished off a few more. I even brought Liberal Fascism with me to the Tax Day Rally! In addition to my planned reads, I found my lost copy of The Last Battle, the final book in the Chronicles of Narnia. Somehow it ended up in my mom’s car, and I found it when they visited. It was a nice treat between all of the political books.

April Book Successes

• Why Women Should Rule the World, Dee Dee Myers
• Marketing in the Groundswell, Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff
• Letters to an American Lady, CS Lewis
• The Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd
• Primal, Mark Batterson
• Last Night in Paradise, Katie Roiphe
• Conservative Victory, Sean Hannity (Read my review)
• Letters to an American Lady, C.S. Lewis
• The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
• Liberty & Tyranny, Mark Levin

April Incompletes

• Liberal Fascism, Jonah Goldberg*
• Elizabeth & Mary, Jane Dunn*
• Sign Me Up! A Marketer’s Guide To Email Newsletters that Build Relationships and Boost Sales
• The Truth About Email Marketing, Simms Jenkins
• Unhooked, Laura Sessions Stepp
• Courage and Consequence, Karl Rove
• Game Change, Heilemann & Halperin
• Unleashing the Idea Virus, Seth Godin
• Meltdown, Tom Woods
• Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
• Torn In My Heart, Liz Curtis Higgs*

*Partially read

Admittedly, when I heard that Sean Hannity was writing a book on how conservatives could take back America in November, I wasn’t that enthused. With poll numbers falling, the growing tea party and the palpable anger of most Americans over health care, these types of books are only expected.

Then I read some favorable reviews of Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda and put the book on my April reading list. Since the book was around 200 pages and only $8.16 at Sam’s Club, I bought it.

I was pleasantly surprised.

What Hannity did was brilliant. He took very philosophical and wonkish ideas and put them into paperback form. He purposely kept the cost of the book low and made it short. He didn’t dumb down conservatism. Rather, he packaged it in an accessible way.

Hannity splits the book into two parts. The first part builds the case against Barack Obama. For most people, this is old news, and only serves to make you angry. I read it mostly at the gym and could funnel my anger into the treadmill. Otherwise, I was quite likely to call and email every Obama voter that I know and yell at him and her.

The second half focuses on the path to conservative victory. Hannity does good job of explaining the history and rationale behind conservative politics. He goes in depth into the legacy of President Reagan and why pundits like David Frum are harmful.

The biggest surprise is that Hannity correctly blames Bush for causing most of the problems that we face today. Big Government Republicanism only caused huge divisions in the party and created distrust among American voters. Unless we get a crop of true fiscal conservatives in office this November, I don’t know if that trust can ever be restored.

I do wish that Hannity had included history of the conservative movement prior to Reagan. For example, Goldwater was mentioned twice in passing. Without the early work of Goldwater, Reagan may not have been so successful.

With the exception of national security, I agree with his 11 points. If someone is upset by the actions of Washington but doesn’t quite want to be brandished with the tea party label or called a wing nut, I’d recommend this book. It concisely explains conservative objections to Barack Obama and displays that we’re not the Party of No, just the “Party of Not These Ideas.”

While reading Letters to an American Lady by C.S. Lewis, which is part of the April reading list, I came across this passage. Like much of Lewis’ work, it hits you in the gut with the truth of walking with Christ.

From the letter dated 6/12/55:

For it is a dreadful truth that the state of (as you say) “having to depend solely on God” is what we all dread most. And of course that just shows how very much, how almost exclusively, we have been depending on things. But trouble goes so far back in our lives and is now so deeply ingrained, we’ll will not turn to Him as long as He leaves us anything else to turn to. I suppose all one can say is that it was bound to come. In the hour of death and the day of judgment, what else shall we have? Perhaps when those moments come, they will feel happiest who have been forced (however unwittingly) to begin practicing it here on earth. It is good of Him to force us; but dear me, how hard to feel that it is good at the time.

This isn’t in relation to anything nor is there a political or cultural angle. This passage just struck me as the honest truth about how difficult it is to be a Christian. It’s not always praise music and warm fuzzies, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. The darkest moments, the ones when we want to do anything but trust in God, are the ones that teach us the most.

I love books. To the dismay of anyone who has ever helped me move, I have a huge collection. I could realistically open a book store in my living room.

I’ve tried borrowing books from the library to save money and space. During grad school, I picked up the habit of highlighting, making notes in margins and dog earing pages. Libraries frown upon those behaviors.

Part of the problem is that I impulsively buy books. Every time I’m in Chattanooga, I make a special trip to McKay’s Used Books and generally spend $50 or $60 on a huge box of books. Unlike clothes or shoes, how do you turn down a book? Books feed your brain.

My impulsive buying creates a backlog. I easily have 300 or more books in my apartment that are waiting to be read.

Last night, I found myself at Sam’s Club and thumbing through Sean Hannity’s new book, Conservative Victory. Normally, I wouldn’t have picked it up, but Red State reviewed it favorably. At only 200 pages and $8, I couldn’t resist.

As I walked to my car, the realization hit me that I had just bought another book that I don’t have time to read. I still had my two previous book impulses in the car. Even though April is a busy month, I decided to challenge myself to work on the reading backlog. If I commit it in a blog post, I’m more likely to follow through since I fear that someone will call me out. Hence, my April reading list is below.

The first seven books are half-way read. Some of them are part of reading lists, such as NeW’s Book Club or Read to Lead. I highly recommend both lists.

1. Why Women Should Rule the World, Dee Dee Myers
Part of my feminist reading list (created by me based on reviews from feminist blogs). It’s much better than I thought. The first chapter was bad. Actually, it was terrible, but the book has improved. As long as Myers doesn’t explain gender politics solely through her own experiences in the White House, she’s interesting.
Update: Completed 4/2/10

2. Marketing in the Groundswell, Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff
Finished last night, 4/1/10!

3. Letters to an American Lady, CS Lewis
I’m reading a few letters every night as part of my devotions.
Completed: 4/24/10

4. The Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd
I’m a sucker for Southern literature and recently watched The Secret Life of Bees, which I also need to read.
Update: Completed 4/7/10

5. Primal, Mark Batterson
Yes, this was written by my pastor, and I got a free copy. It got misplaced after I started my new job and needs to be finished.
Update: Completed 4/24/10

6. Last Night in Paradise, Katie Roiphe
Feminist reading list book, and written in 1999 about how AIDS inspired a new sexual morality. Viewed from a post-9/11 world, Last Night in Paradise comes across as self-indulgent and presumptive. I believe that books from the 90s will be viewed as a second Decadence Era, such as literature from the 1920s and 1930s.
Update: Completed 4/2/10

7. Elizabeth & Mary, Jane Dunn
Reading biographies of monarchs, particularly Tudors, is a hobby. I’ve read at least 10 biographies on Elizabeth I. Until now, I’ve read very little on Mary, Queen of Scots.

8. Sign Me Up! A Marketer’s Guide To Email Newsletters that Build Relationships and Boost Sales, Blumberg & Miller
Reading it for work, but I also enjoy reading marketing books.

9. Conservative Victory, Sean Hannity
See above. Again, $8.
Completed: 4/12/10

10. The Truth About Email Marketing, Simms Jenkins
Also reading this for work.

11. Unhooked, Laura Sessions Stepp
This book seems to make feminists angry, so I must read it. It’s also on the NeW list.

12. Liberal Fascism, Jonah Goldberg
Recently, I listened to a podcast with Goldberg about his book and was fascinated. Since I spend so much time writing about feminism as the gender version of Marxism, this should be intriguing.

13. Writing to Change the World, Mary Pipher
It’s from the left, but any book on writing is helpful. Tactics are neutral, which is why I recommend reading Rules for Radicals by Alinsky.

14. Courage and Consequence, Karl Rove
I bought this simply to piss liberals off. Rove is a controversial figure, so I look forward to reading it.

15. Game Change,  Heilemann & Halperin
Everyone in DC but me has likely read this book by now.

16. Unleashing the Idea Virus, Seth Godin
I haven’t read anything by the ultimate marketing guru in a while.

17. Liberty and Tyranny, Mark Levin
I think my conservative street cred is questionable since I haven’t read this. I also mooched it from the parents the last time I was in Chattanooga, so I need to read it before they realize it’s gone…or they read this post. Liberty and Tyranny was also added to Blackwell’s Read to Lead recently.

18. Meltdown, Tom Woods
Recommended by my libertarian friends. The Obama Administration is driving me towards becoming a fiscal libertarian.

19. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
Is Gladwell the guru of pop psychology/feel-good management books or a true genius? I’m undecided.